Here in My Heart
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: Basically just "Titanic: the Wicked version". Loosely based off the 1997 film. Fiyeraba.
1. Just a Lonely Girl

**AN: It's good to see me, isn't it? No need to respond, that was rhetorical! ****It feels good to be posting again, though. I am rather busy at the moment - not just with uni, but with NaNoWriMo as well; but I missed this.**

**As said in the summary, this will be loosely based on the 1997 _Titanic _film, but I'm not going to follow the plot line completely. Just read it and you'll see :). ****I hope you like it!**

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><p><strong>1. Just a Lonely Girl<strong>

"Miss Elphaba?" a maid called, coming into the room and curtseying. "The Margrave is requesting your presence on deck."

Elphaba Thropp, soon to be Tenmeadows, glanced up from her book briefly. "I'm busy."

The maid looked uncomfortable. "I'm very sorry, Miss Elphaba," she said nervously, "but he was really quite insistent you join him on deck…"

Elphaba sighed and put her book away. She knew Avaric would be pissed if she didn't show up, and it wasn't fair to submit this maid to his temper just because _she _rather sat inside to finish her book than spent time with her fiancé.

She rose to her feet, ignoring the maid's look of obvious relief as she left the room and climbed the stairs, emerging on the top deck. Her father and younger sister were at the railing, she saw. Nessarose was excitedly pointing at something and Frexspar was standing beside her wheelchair, one hand on her shoulder, smiling at his youngest daughter's enthusiasm.

Avaric was standing beside them, talking to another man; but when he saw her, he broke off his conversation to beckon her.

"There you are," he said. "Mr Alarge, this is my fiancée, Miss Elphaba Thropp of Munchkinland. Darling, this is Mr Alarge – he is a renowned businessman from the Glikkus. I met him once at a conference about the stock market."

She curtseyed obediently. "How do you do," she said.

Mr Alarge smiled at her, but she could see the way his eyes swept over her, taking her in from her high-heeled shoes and the skirt of her designer dress up to her raven black hair, pinned back tightly. One of his eyebrows quirked slightly, probably because of her skin colour, but her obvious wealth kept him from saying anything about it.

"I am very well," he replied finally, taking her hand and kissing it, "thank you, Miss Elphaba."

Avaric put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him a little too forcefully. "Why didn't you come outside, darling? The ship is about to depart – don't you want to watch all the people staying behind?"

"Of course," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Forgive me, Master Avaric – I was just caught up in a book."

"A book." He laughed and looked at Mr Alarge, who laughed as well, as if she had just said something hilarious. "Do you hear that, sir? She was caught up in a book. My dear Miss Elphaba," he said, taking her hands in his own, "don't you see that you are only fooling yourself by constantly burying yourself in your books? You should get out more and socialise, like I do. It will bring you much further in life."

"I doubt that," she said coldly, annoyed by the way he brushed off the thing she loved most as something unimportant. She pulled her hands from his grasp. "I do think Shiz University will be more interested in me if I am well-educated than if I am well-socialised."

"Shiz University?" Mr Alarge said, both eyebrows raised now. "You certainly are ambitious, Miss Elphaba. What subject are you aiming for?"

"A major in Politics," she said, "with a minor in History and possibly Sorcery."

"Sorcery?" Alarge's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline.

Avaric chuckled and buried his fingers in Elphaba's waist – hard. She gasped.

"My fiancée is just joking," he said to Alarge, smiling through gritted teeth. "If you would excuse us, please." He led Elphaba away from the man and to the railing, from where they could see the people staying behind here in Munchkinland. They were filling the harbour, waving at the passengers aboard the ship, most of whom were waving back – Nessarose among them.

"Elphaba," Avaric whispered harshly, giving her a firm shake. "Are you insane? I told you – you are not to mention your magic to anyone. _Anyone_. And I want you to stop this nonsense about Shiz University, too. We both know you will not be studying at any university at all. As soon as we arrive in Gillikin, you and I will be married and you will have other duties."

"What duties?"she hissed back at him. "I won't need to run the household – you have got plenty of staff members for that. What other duties are there for me?"

"Socialise," he said. "Go to tea parties. Sit and look pretty. Whatever you upper-class women do when men are not around."

"If you want a wife that just sits around and looks pretty," Elphaba said, glaring at him and crossing her arms, "you should have married a porcelain doll. Or a Gillikin girl," she added as an afterthought.

"Believe me," Avaric said with a scowl. "I'm starting to think about it. When your father promised me your hand, he only said you were from a good family. He never mentioned what a hassle you are."

"Then by all means, break off the engagement and find yourself another wife!" she snarled.

His eyes narrowed. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" He shook his head. "I won't. Your father promised me you and I will marry you, Elphaba. You're the governor's daughter. You are wealthy and of a high social class. It's time you start acting like it."

"I'm trying," she said, heaving a sigh. "Oz, Avaric… I swear I'm trying. It just doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to all those other women. Maybe if you would let me go to Shiz –"

"Elphaba."

"I'm sure they also have classes where they teach women how to behave in a ladylike way. I could take those alongside my other classes –"

"Elphaba!"

She cut herself off and fell silent, not meeting his gaze.

"You," he said in a low voice, "are not going to Shiz – or to any other university, for that matter. Is that clear?"

She glanced at him and opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.

"No," he said. "It is not proper for young ladies to learn about such topics as politics and history… not even to mention _sorcery_," he spat as if the word left a foul taste on his tongue. "All you have to worry about is how you present yourself to the world. How you look, what you wear, what you say, how you behave, whom you socialise with. That is your life from now on, Elphaba. You'd better get used to it."

He tried to kiss her on the lips, but she turned her face at the last moment, causing his lips to touch her cheek instead. He frowned, but did not mention it as he pulled away and looked down at the people coming to see them off.

There was a loud noise and the ship started moving, slowly at first, but speeding up soon. The people aboard, as well as the ones staying behind, cheered; and Nessarose clasped her hands together in delight.

"Oh, Elphaba, isn't this just magical?" she gushed as she turned to look at her older sister. "We're travelling all the way to Gillikin on the biggest ship ever built!"

Elphaba smiled at her. "It is pretty magical, indeed," she agreed, though mostly for Nessa's sake. She would rather have stayed at home in Munchkinland, to be completely honest… or better, even – gone off to a university to study. But her father had arranged for her to marry Avaric, claiming that he was a friendly man with many resources, not much older than Elphaba, and influential in Gillikin.

"It is a good match," Frexspar had declared when she had argued with him about it.

"Politically, yes," she had countered. "But have you ever even considered how I _feel _about all this? I don't want to marry Avaric Tenmeadows, Father! I don't even know him!"

"You will have plenty of time to get to know him during our journey," Frexspar had said calmly. "Weeks, even. Don't be ungrateful, Elphaba," he had chided her. "I could have made a much worse match for you."

That much was true, she knew. Despite her skin colour, several men had asked her father for her hand, knowing it would have political advantages for them to be married to the governor of Munchkinland's eldest daughter. Nevertheless, her father had put much care and effort into choosing the right husband for her, and Elphaba supposed he could have done worse.

But Avaric could be such a _prick_, and she didn't want to marry him at all – or anyone else, for that matter. She was only nineteen. She wanted to study and learn about the world and she wanted to marry for love, if it would ever come to that, not for politics.

But she had no choice, and so here she was.

Maybe she could convince Avaric to let her go to Shiz eventually… or possibly another university, one closer to the Tenmeadows estate. She could study and be the perfect upper-class wife at the same time, couldn't she? She'd try her hardest. Anything for a chance to learn about a subject, be educated… she wanted to try and make a difference in Oz. She wanted to leave a legacy, to do something great and good that would have people talking about her for years after she'd pass away. She didn't want to be remembered by a handful of people as Avaric Tenmeadows' lonely, green-skinned, perfectly groomed wife.

She looked to her side. He was talking to another rich and neatly dressed man and they were both laughing. Everyone here on the first-class level of the ship looked the same to her: the men in suits, with golden watches on golden chains in their chest pockets; and the women in pretty dresses with corsets laced so tightly they could hardly breathe, wearing high heels and with their hair perfectly styled and their make-up perfectly applied. They all looked bleak and empty.

She looked down at her own expensive dress, the accessories she was wearing, the make-up on her face, and the clasp in her hair… and she realised that to the people around her, she didn't look any different than the other women here – aside, obviously, from her emerald green skin.

But she was different. She _was_, and not just because of her skin. She wasn't like them. One of her old teachers, a Goat named Doctor Dillamond, had told her once that she had potential. He said she was intelligent and powerful, too; and that if she only got the opportunity to study and to learn how to control her magical powers, she could end up doing great things one day. She wanted that.

She was not just another wealthy, but empty woman. She was Elphaba Thropp. She was magical, powerful, and intelligent. She had fire, and she was not going to let anyone put that out without a fight. Not her father, not all these other fake men and women around her, and certainly not Avaric.

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><p><strong>You know what would be just wonderful? To come home after my exam tonight and find reviews :D.<strong>


	2. About a Broke Prince and a Perky Blonde

**AN: Wow. EIGHTEEN reviews on the first chapter?! I'm completely blown away. I don't know what to say! Thank you all so much! :D You know I love you (in a non-creepy way) - virtual kruidnoten for all of you! (For those who don't know what those are: they're a Dutch specialty and I'm sure you'd LOVE them.)**

**As for those of you wondering if I'm going to end this the way _Titanic _ended... I'm not saying anything. I mean, that'd be a huge spoiler, right? :P So this story may or may not have a major character death in it. Or more than one. *cackles***

**Also, this chapter is dedicated to Tanner. Happy birthday! :D**

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><p><strong>2. About a Broke Prince and a Perky Blonde<strong>

Fiyero Tiggular was standing at the railing, breathing in the salty air and smiling at the smell of the sea. He had always loved the sea. When he was younger, his father had often taken him sailing; and he had always loved to swim, too.

Suddenly, someone gasped beside him and he turned to the sound. It had come from the girl standing next to him, her eyes wide and her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Oh. My. Oz," she squeaked, staring at him. "You are Prince Fiyero Tiggular!"

He cracked a lopsided grin and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um… yeah," he said. "That's me."

The girl squealed so loudly he thought his eardrums might burst. "Oh my _Oz_! Prince Fiyero Tiggular is here on the ship! With _me_!" She squealed again, then suddenly looked confused. "Wait. What are you doing on the second-class level?" she wanted to know. "Did you decide to visit those worse off than you are? That is so incredibly kind of you!"

"No, no," he said with a small laugh. "It's not like that. I, um…" He grimaced. "I'm travelling second class myself."

The girl was still staring at him wide-eyed, waiting for an explanation, so he added, "My parents kind of… cut me off."

The girl gasped.

"Yeah." He made a sour face. "Apparently I spent too much money on parties and expensive things; and when I got kicked out of my fourth university, they said they'd had enough. They bought me a second-class ticket for me to travel to Gillikin. I'm going to study at Shiz University." His parents had actually told him that he should be happy they didn't get him a _third_-class ticket. He grimaced at the mere thought.

"But your parents are not giving you any more money?" the girl asked, horrified, and he shook his head.

"They're paying my tuition," he said, "but apparently, I'm sharing a dorm room with another boy; and I'm not getting any more money from them. They said I'll have to earn it. Get a job, or something." He shuddered at the mere prospect. Jobs were for ordinary people, after all. He wasn't ordinary – he was royalty. He was still furious with his parents for cutting him off like that, though deep down, he had to admit he couldn't really blame them.

Someone called a name and the girl looked over her shoulder. "Oh, that's me," she said apologetically to Fiyero. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It was great talking to you, though," she gushed, beaming up at him. "Maybe we'll see one another again!"

He forced himself to smile back at her. "Who knows?"

She giggled and then left, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He hated all those girls constantly swooning over him like he was some sort of celebrity. It had been fun at first, but after a few years, it had just gotten tedious – especially since it always seemed to go with lots of loud squeals and annoying giggles.

He had spent the past years of his life partying and enjoying life – drinking, pulling pranks, and generally just behaving in the most childish way possible. His parents were desperate, which was one of the reasons why they had cut him off. He knew they did not know what to do anymore to get him to stop his behaviour and grow up.

But that was exactly why he had started doing all this in the first place: he did not _want _to grow up. He didn't want to become the king of the Vinkus. His lax behaviour at his first university had started out as an attempt to draw out the experience as long as he could. He figured that if he failed the subjects he was taking, he'd have an extra year to mentally prepare himself for his duties… maybe even two or three years. Not that he thought that would make a huge difference. He didn't think he would _ever _be ready to take the throne.

He had failed everything in his first year and he had flunked out of his first university. His parents thought – or hoped – that it was just a phase and they sent him to another university in the Vinkus, hoping he would thrive better there. During that time, however, he befriended some fellow students who taught him the ways of pranks and partying. After insulting several of his teachers multiple times (mostly by distributing inappropriate drawings of them among his fellow students), being caught acting inappropriately with a girl in the teacher's lounge, gluing the Headmaster's backside to his chair, and causing noise pollution because of the parties he threw in his dorm room, he was finally expelled.

He flunked out of his next university again and the fourth, which had been in Munchkinland, had not been very tolerant towards his policy of sneaking girls in and out of his room. When his parents found out, they had written to him that he was to stay with his aunt and uncle in Munchkinland for the next few weeks and that he would be leaving for Gillikin in the middle of the summer as a second-class passenger on the ship he now found himself on.

He knew they were hoping for him to settle down, somehow. They wanted him to try his best and to pass his classes and they wanted him to make nice friends that did not party or pull pranks all the time. He knew they also wanted him to start getting serious with a girl soon; but they hadn't even dared to hint at that, what with his recent behaviour, probably afraid it would only increase his rebelliousness towards them. Fiyero was well aware of the fact that he had to find himself a wife eventually, though. If he failed to do so himself, his parents would find one for him.

He sighed and leant across the railing, looking down at the sea. He hated his life.

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><p>"Don't you think so, darling?"<p>

"Hmm?" Elphaba realised Avaric had asked her a question and she quickly nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do think you're right." She had no idea what this was even about, but she knew this was almost always the right answer. Now was not an exception – Avaric turned back to his conversation partner and kept talking to him, not sparing his fiancée another glance.

She sighed and sipped her drink, looking around her. Everywhere, people were talking, eating, and laughing, the men discussing business or politics and the women mostly gossiping about one another. Nessarose was talking animatedly with a handsome young man, under the close supervision of Frexspar. There was no-one else here that interested her and so she just took another gulp of her drink, grimacing at the taste. Everything here was pretentious and fake.

The blonde girl sitting on her other side softly elbowed her in the side. "Are you bored?"

"Yeah," Elphaba admitted, and the girl laughed.

"Me, too," she said. "I mean, I love talks about shoes and shopping, as well as gossip, just as much as any girl; but not _all the time_. The people here are so boring. Plus," she added, fanning herself some cool air with her hand, "Momsie laced my corset so tightly I can hardly breathe."

"Trust me," Elphaba muttered, "I know how you feel… only I bet my father pulled harder on those corset strings than your mother ever could. That man is much stronger than he looks."

The girl giggled. "What's your name?"

"Elphaba," she said. "Elphaba Thropp."

The blonde girl smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Elphaba. I'm Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands," she introduced herself. "I'm here with my Momsie and Popsicle. They're sitting over there." She pointed at the man and the woman next to Frexspar.

Elphaba made a face. "I hope my father isn't boring them."

"That's your father?" Galinda peered at Frex closely, then gasped. "Wait a clock-tick. Isn't that the governor of Munchkinland?"

"Yeah," Elphaba said with a sigh. "He is."

"Ooh! You're the governor's green daughter!" Galinda suddenly realised. "I've heard so much about you – and about your sister, too! The girl in the wheelchair, right?"

"It doesn't surprise me that you've heard about us," said Elphaba, trying not to sound too curt, but failing. She hated the fact that all of Oz talked about her skin and Nessa's chair. As if that was all that mattered about them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Elphie," Galinda apologised. "I didn't mean to be rude. It's great to finally meet you, though. Can I call you Elphie?" she changed the subject. "It's a lot easier than "Elphaba". No offense, but your name is a bit of a mouthful. And I think "Elphie" suits you."

Elphaba grunted. "It's a little… perky," she tried, but Galinda missed the hint.

"Awesome. And then you can call me…" She thought about it for a moment and then her face brightened. "Galinda!"

Elphaba stifled a laugh.

Avaric, who had heard the final part of their conversation, now gave Galinda a charming smile.

"Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands," he said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "It is an honour."

She blushed and giggled. Elphaba rolled her eyes. Of course he would know who she was. Avaric knew everything about every person of status in all of Oz.

Avaric and Galinda launched into a conversation about one thing or another and Elphaba resisted the urge to bury her face in her arms. She liked Galinda and she had hoped they could become friends; but Avaric had a way of winding everyone around his little finger, and he had a knack for influencing people, too. She had only known him for the week or two he had stayed with them in Munchkinland, but all he had done so far was discourage her dreams and subtly hint at her being stupid or ugly in his conversations with other people. He wanted to keep her in check and he tried to do so by isolating her from everyone else, making them think she was not worthy or interesting to be around so that they wouldn't try to befriend her. He had her in his power and she felt like there was nothing she could do about it.

But she wasn't just going to give up and stop fighting. She would not allow him to alienate her from other people, just so he could keep her under control; and she would certainly not allow him to turn her into an obedient little housewife.

"He's nice," Galinda commented when Avaric excused himself for a moment. "Your fiancé, I mean."

"Don't let him fool you," Elphaba muttered, listlessly poking at her food with her fork. "He's a jerk."

Galinda frowned. "Really?"

Encouraged by the fact that Galinda did not immediately seem to disbelieve her, Elphaba nodded. "Yeah. He always acts all nice and charming towards other people," she said, "but I know better. He's a manipulative and controlling jerk and I don't want to marry him, but I have no choice." She sighed.

"Wow." Galinda thought about that for a moment. "I'm sorry, Elphie," she said. "He seems nice, but… well, I know the type of guy; and if you say he's one of them, then I believe you. He does seem a little too smooth," she said, tilting her head a little to the side and narrowing her eyes. She shook her head. "Anyway, if there's anything I can help you with, just give me a call," she said, smiling again. "We're friends now. Okay?"

"Okay," Elphaba agreed, feeling relieved. She was glad Galinda believed her and she liked having a friend here. She loathed Avaric and she didn't have the easiest relationship with her father; and even though her sister was a sweet girl, she was too young, innocent, and naïve to really understand these things. Elphaba cared for Nessarose a lot, but she couldn't really _talk _to her. It was nice having someone to talk to, _really _talk to, for a change.


	3. When Yero Met Fae

**AN: Sorry guys, we cannot throw Avaric overboard just yet... still, I think you'll like this chapter, since so many of you were looking forward to Fiyero and Elphaba meeting one another :).**

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><p><strong>3. When Yero Met Fae<strong>

"Excuse me. Sir?" one of the men guarding the door called at him. "May I see your ticket, please?"

"My ticket?" Fiyero pretended to be indignant. "Are you doubting that I am actually travelling first class? Do you even know who I am?"

The man looked at him closely until he declared, "I am Crown Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus."

The man's eyes widened and he bowed. "My apologies, Your Highness. I had not recognised you." He gestured for Fiyero to enter the room and the prince nodded in reply, brushing past the two men and into the ballroom that lay beyond. He grinned to himself. Playing the prince card always worked. It didn't matter his parents had put him in the second class, as long as he could still enjoy some first-class entertainment.

Once inside, he looked around him at all the ladies and gentlemen sitting and standing around in the room, sipping drinks and talking to one another. Some couples were dancing. Fiyero went to get a drink at the bar and studied the people here more closely as he slowly emptied his glass.

He loved parties, but he hated parties like _these_. The topics discussed were usually boring, the clothes he had to wear were uncomfortable, and everyone was stiff and no fun at all to be around. Still, it was better than sitting around in his room, sulking. He needed a certain amount of luxury every few days or he was sure he would go crazy. And besides – he could get free alcohol here at the bar.

A perky blonde dressed in violet caught his eye as she tried to drag another girl onto the dance floor with her, but the other girl was flat-out refusing to budge. Since the blonde was quite a bit smaller than her friend, it made quite the comical sight and Fiyero grinned. She was pretty, that blonde. Maybe she would be in for a dance or two – dancing was, after all, the only thing _really _fun about these balls.

Then, however, his gaze drifted over to the other girl and his eyes widened.

She had waist-long, ebony hair that fell in curls down her back, half-pinned up with a hair clasp. She was wearing a deep red dress, the colour of blood, with a full skirt and a tight bodice that made her already tiny waist look even tinier (he suspected she, as so many other ladies present here, was wearing a corset). Her cheeks were a bit flushed as she tried to pull out of her blonde friend's grasp, knowing they were attracting attention. The most striking thing about her, though, was the emerald green colour of her skin. Fiyero was fascinated by it.

He watched the two girls for a while. The blonde eventually gave up and allowed herself to be swept off to the dance floor by a man, while the green-skinned girl hurried as far away from the dance floor as possible. She sat down on a chair next to a girl in a wheelchair and they talked for a long while before the raven-haired girl rose to her feet again and moved over to a man with dark brown hair that was standing in a circle with five or six other men, all of them smoking cigars and drinking whiskey as they discussed one thing or another.

The dark-haired beauty tugged at the man's arm and said something to him. He shook her off with an impatient jerk of his arm, scowling as he said something to her. She put her hands on her hips and retorted with a remark of her own, but the man shooed her away and she turned around, stomping back to her seat next to the girl in the wheelchair.

He wondered who the man was and what her relationship was with him. What had they been talking about? He didn't seem to be very friendly towards her.

He wondered about the girl in the wheelchair, too, and about the blonde. Friends? Family members? Or just random girls that had decided to stick together for the night because they didn't have anyone else to socialise with?

Just then, the girl with the emerald skin looked up and their eyes met. His breath caught in his throat.

For some reason, he felt like he had to talk to her.

He left his empty glass on the bar and made his way over to her, never taking her eyes off her. She was talking to the girl in the wheelchair again, but she was also still looking at him from the corners of her eyes, watching him as he approached her. When he finally stood in front of her, he cleared his throat.

"Hello," he said.

"Good evening," the girl in the wheelchair replied with a polite smile. The green girl just stared up at him.

"I saw you from across the room," he said, "and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are."

He mentally kicked himself. _Smooth, Tiggular_. Since when had he become a nervous schoolboy again?

The girl in the wheelchair lit up, but the other girl just scoffed, which confused him. Didn't she believe him?

"I, um…" He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to compose himself. "I was just wondering if… if you'd maybe like to, um… dance with me?"

The raven-haired girl's eyes widened to the size of saucers, but the girl in the wheelchair just looked at her encouragingly.

"Go, Fabala," she said. "You might end up having some fun."

"I don't even know him!" the emerald girl – Fabala? Was that her name? – protested, but the other girl would have none of it.

"Go," she urged. "When was the last time you did something spontaneous?"

The green girl glared at her, but rose to her feet with a sigh, consenting. "Fine, then."

Fiyero grinned widely at her and led her to the dance floor, leading her into a waltz.

"So… Fabala?" he asked, trying to sound casual. "Is that your name?"

"No, no," she hastened to say, shaking her head. "My name is Elphaba. Fabala is a nickname my parents had for me when I was younger, and my sister still calls me that. The girl in the wheelchair," she clarified for his sake. "She's my younger sister, Nessarose."

"Elphaba…" He tried the sound of it out on his tongue. "I like it. It suits you."

"What?" she said with a small laugh. "It sounds green to you?"

He frowned. "No. It sounds beautiful," he corrected her, causing a dark red blush to creep up into her cheeks. "What? Do you think the green is all people see when they look at you?"

"It _is_ all mostpeople see when they look at me," she countered.

He shook his head and dipped her, then gently pulled her up against him again – just a little closer than before. "Then most people are blind, ignorant, and stupid."

"Are you saying you think yourself superior to most people?"

"Of course," he declared. "I am the prince of the Vinkus, after all."

She snorted softly. "Social status doesn't mean anything," she said.

"On the contrary," he corrected her. "It means everything." He nodded at the people surrounding them. "To them, anyway."

"Didn't you just say they were blind, ignorant, and stupid?"

He laughed. "Touché." He twirled her and looked down into her eyes. They were a rich, chocolate brown colour and they reflected the bright lights around them.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked suddenly.

He blinked, taken aback. "Doing what?"

"Why did you ask me to dance with you?"

He shrugged. "Honestly? I saw you from across the room and I…" He faltered. He wasn't even sure what he had felt or thought when he had laid eyes on her. "I just… I don't know. You intrigued me."

Her eyebrows rose slightly. "I _intrigued _you?"

"Yeah." He shrugged again. "You were just… different. The way you were sitting there, watching everyone… something about your demeanour, I guess. Added, of course, to the fact that you look gorgeous."

He could tell she was startled by that. "What?"

"Don't deny it," he chided her before she could say anything else. "My guess is that you're one of the prettiest girls on this ship when you look your worst, but in that dress? Every man present here has been staring at you all night."

She scoffed softly.

"Okay, not _every _man," he conceded, recognising he wasn't going to win this fight. "But I certainly have."

She blushed now and he grinned at her. "Now your cheeks match your dress."

She slapped him lightly on the arm. "Shut up."

He laughed and spun her again.

The song ended and she curtseyed, as was the custom; but before she could move away, Fiyero's fingers closed around her wrist.

"Don't go yet," he said almost pleadingly.

She glanced at something over his shoulder and then looked into his eyes before nodding.

"Okay," she said. "I might as well keep dancing with you – it's better than just sitting there and being bored out of my mind."

He grinned again and swept her back into his arms, guiding her across the dance floor. They danced in silence for a while before he spoke again.

"So the girl in the wheelchair is your younger sister," he said, repeating the information she had given him.

She nodded.

"I'm guessing the bald man fussing over her all the time is your father?"

She smiled a little. There were tiny dimples in her cheeks when she did that. "Yes. He is very protective of Nessa," she explained. "She's the apple of his eye."

He nodded, not really wanting to talk about Nessarose. "Who was the blonde girl you were with before?"

"Galinda Upland," she replied, "of the Upper Uplands. I met her at dinner yesterday. She is one of the handful of people I have met on this ship so far that I actually like."

He chuckled. "I can imagine that. Especially when you're forced to be up here all the time, with all those stuck-up aristocrats."

She grinned at him. "Exactly."

He led her through a complicated move in the dance before pulling her back into his arms. "What about the man you were talking to before I approached you?"

He could feel her tense a little in his arms, but her facial expression did not betray anything. Neither did her voice as she said, "Avaric Tenmeadows."

Fiyero cocked his head a little, mulling the name over in his head. "Tenmeadows… that sounds familiar. Is he from Gillikin?" Then it clicked. "Wait. The margrave's son?"

"The margrave," Elphaba corrected him. "His father passed away a couple of months ago. Avaric is the margrave of Tenmeadows now and he knows it, too. He is one of those stuck-up aristocrats I so loathe," she said with a small laugh, but he could tell that her heart was not in it. She was still smiling, but her eyes were sad as she added, "He also happens to be my fiancé."

Fiyero actually winced at that. "Your fiancé?"

She nodded, sighing. "Unfortunately." She looked over his shoulder, but she didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. She merely seemed lost in thought for a few moments before she said softly, "My father thought it would be a good match."

Fiyero thought about his own parents and realised he could very well end up in the same position as Elphaba one day if he continued his behaviour and refused to settle down. He was lucky his parents hadn't married him off ages ago already.

"My father is the governor of Munchkinland," she said. "I'm his eldest daughter, but I won't be taking over as governor when I get older – Nessa will. Father… didn't think Munchkinland would accept a green governor." She huffed a wry laugh. "Neither do I, to be completely honest with you. Munchkins are so small-minded."

Fiyero gently squeezed her waist in a show of comfort, and she smiled a dimpled smile at him.

"So he decided to marry me off instead," she finished, "to a man of good status. He did take into account some of my wishes. I could have ended up with a sixty-year-old drunk, or something." She laughed, but he did not laugh with her.

"I'm sorry," he said solemnly.

"Oh, stop it." She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

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><p><strong>Click the little review button! Click it! I know you want to! :D<strong>


	4. The Ways of Love

**AN: I won't say anything about the ending, except for the fact that I have only yesterday decided what to do and am currently writing it, and it's kind of hard on me.**

**Also: No, you still can't throw Avaric overboard, and trust me - he's going to get a lot worse than he's been so far. See this chapter (and some later ones as well).**

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><p><strong>4. The Ways of Love<strong>

He ended up dancing with Elphaba in his arms all night; and when he finally did sneak back to the second-class level and into his room, he found himself unable to think about anything but her. It was crazy, really. He had never really been in love before – sure, there had been girls, but none of them had been serious. And now here he was, like a pathetic love-struck idiot, grinning at the ceiling as he thought about a girl instead of falling asleep. He must be going insane.

It was even more stupid for the fact that she was _engaged to be married_. Her fiancé was here on the ship with her. She was going to go with him to the Tenmeadows estate and Fiyero was off to study at Shiz University until he would become the king of the Vinkus. They had absolutely no future together. He couldn't even kiss her, or tell her how he felt – not with both her fiancé and her family watching her all the time… but maybe he could sneak up to the first-class level once more to dance with her again. He'd like that.

He didn't see her the next day, no matter how hard he searched for her. He spent the day wandering the ship, going down to the third level and talking a bit with some passengers there. He stood at the railing, watching the sea as it flew by underneath him. He didn't sleep well that night, thinking about her again all the time, and he mentally kicked himself. He was stupid and brainless. What was he even thinking? He had to get her out of his head.

The next day, he tried to befriend some of his fellow second-class passengers. They played card games, had some nice conversations, and laughed a lot. He managed to forget about her for a few hours, which he found to be quite the accomplishment, and he was pleased. This was what he had to do. He had to stop thinking about her and just have some fun, like he had done for the past years. That was what worked best for him, after all; and that way, at least he wouldn't be disappointed.

And then, just as he had convinced himself that he could forget about her and stop thinking about her, he ran into the Thropp family – plus Avaric and Galinda, as well as two servants – on the top deck.

A faint blush coloured Elphaba's cheeks when she saw him, and he could only stare at her, quickly discovering that she looked just as gorgeous dressed in royal blue as she did in crimson. How could he ever have thought it possible to forget about her?

Remembering his manners, he bowed. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," the governor replied, eyeing him curiously. Nessarose grabbed his arm.

"That is Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus, Father," she said to him. "He danced with Elphaba a few nights ago, remember?"

"Ah, yes!" Frexspar's face brightened and he shook Fiyero's hand. "It's a pleasure, Your Highness. I am Governor Frexspar Thropp of Munchkinland," he introduced himself and gestured at his daughters. "You already know my daughters, Miss Nessarose and Miss Elphaba. This is Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands," he continued the introductions, "and that is Elphaba's fiancé, Margrave Avaric Tenmeadows of Tenmeadows."

Avaric shook Fiyero's hand as well and he smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Thank you for amusing my fiancée in my absence, Prince Fiyero," he said.

"Actually, you weren't absent," Elphaba chirped, appearing next to her fiancé and innocently blinking at him. "I asked you if it was alright for me to return to our rooms and read for a bit, but you told me I had to stay at the ball and amuse myself, because you weren't done smoking and gossiping yet."

Fiyero stifled a smile. Avaric glared at his fiancée and put his arm around her waist. Judging by the grimace flitting across her face, he was squeezing her – hard.

"Don't listen to her," Avaric said to Fiyero, fake-smiling again. "She's still peeved because I won't let her go to university so that she can learn about things she will never have use of in her life ever again. Women," he laughed and Frexspar smiled, too. Fiyero, however, didn't.

"Don't you think that educated women could be of so much more use to society?" he asked Avaric instead. "My parents sent my younger sister to university and she is doing very well. I imagine she will be much more capable of ruling with an education."

"Women are not supposed to rule," Avaric said curtly. "Your sister won't rule, either, will she? If I am not mistaken, _you _are the crown prince."

"I am," Fiyero conceded, "but she would have to take over if something should happen to me; and as the princess, she has many royal duties as well."

"Elphaba won't." Avaric squeezed her even closer and the green girl gasped slightly at the force with which his fingers were digging into her waist. "She's not going to rule anyone or anything and she won't have any other duties than presenting a perfect image to our associates and taking care of the children she's going to give me. That is all. She does not need an education for anything."

"I will go to university in a year," Nessarose chimed in, smiling proudly. "Father is sending me to Shiz. I will be ruling a province, after all, once Father retires, so I need to know certain things."

"That's hardly fair," Galinda said with a frown. "You get to go to university and rule a province, and all Elphaba can do is play the perfect wife and mother?"

Avaric coloured in anger. "Miss Galinda," he said through clenched teeth, "I will have you know that I shall take very good care of Miss Elphaba here. She will have the life most society dames can only dream of. Aside from that," he added, boring his cold gaze into Galinda's, "I do not think you have any right to judge me or my actions, Miss Galinda. Or Governor Thropp's, for that matter."

Galinda blushed and didn't say anything else. Elphaba cast her eyes heavenward. Nessarose was fidgeting uncomfortably and both Frexspar and Avaric looked rather tense.

"Anyway," Frexspar finally broke the silence, "it was very nice meeting you, Your Highness, but we must be on our way."

With that, he strode away. Avaric followed, pulling Elphaba with him; behind them came Nessarose, her chair pushed by a Munchkin servant, and Galinda, who eyed the prince in interest as she passed by him. Just before they disappeared out of earshot, Fiyero heard her say, "He's cute. Is he single?"

He sighed and rested his forehead against the wall. This was hopeless. He hated the fate that awaited Elphaba, but there wasn't anything he could do to change it. He was never going to be anything else to her than a prince and a possible dance partner. That was it. He had to stop being brainless and move on with his life.

* * *

><p>"Why was he asking all those questions?" Avaric demanded. He and Elphaba were in the sitting room of their suite, Elphaba curled up in an armchair with a book and Avaric pacing up and down the room in annoyance. "Who does he think he is?"<p>

"The crown prince of the Vinkus, I imagine," Elphaba said drily from her chair, not even looking up from her book.

Avaric glowered at her. "You need to tone it down, Elphaba," he warned her. "I will not accept this disrespectful behaviour from you."

She snorted softly – just not loudly enough for him to hear. He resumed his pacing and she re-focused on her book.

"And then that Galinda girl," he continued, huffing. "Who does _she _think she is? What makes them think the way I treat you is _any _of their business? Your father and I made an arrangement and we agreed on certain things. That is our right. You're Frexspar's daughter and you're my fiancée."

He didn't say it aloud, but the implication of his words was clear: she belonged to him now. She heard what he wasn't saying and she hated it.

"She is far too outspoken for a young lady, anyway," Avaric said. "Women shouldn't be concerning themselves with what is and is not fair, and women certainly should not rule. Did you hear that prince? His sister goes to university! Ha!" He shook his head. "Not to mention Nessarose. Your father is a hypocrite, did you know that? He hands you over to me, telling me you will be a perfectly obedient wife for me. He tells me he does not want you to be educated in anything but the arts of society and motherhood. And then he goes and makes _Nessarose_, who is not only a woman, but also in a wheelchair, the governor of an entire province. Is he crazy?"

Elphaba opened her mouth to defend her sister, not liking the way Avaric talked about Nessa, but he raged on.

"It's none of my business, though. What Frex does with Nessarose is of no concern to me. You, on the other hand, are." He looked at her. "From now on, I do not want you to socialise with that Galinda girl again," he said. "She is a bad influence."

Elphaba bristled. "She's the only friend I have here!"

"Then make other friends." He made a dismissive hand gesture. "There are plenty of kind and well-raised young ladies here. Befriend them."

"I don't want to befriend them." She crossed her arms, knowing she was acting like a little girl, but not caring. "Galinda is my friend and I am not going to stop seeing her. You may be my fiancé, but you don't get to tell me what to do!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Watch it, Elphaba."

"Watch what?" She closed her book and rose to her feet. "I have a working brain, you know. I have feelings, too. I'm not going to let you control my life."

"You are." He slowly approached her, like a predator would his prey, and she instinctively recoiled a little at the feral look in his eyes.

"I am in control of your life, Elphaba," he said in a low voice. "I will be your husband soon and that means I will take over your father's job."

"My father didn't control me, either!" She shook her head, desperate to make him understand. "I am my own person, Avaric. I will become your wife soon. I might become a mother one day and I promised you I'd try to be the woman you want me to be. Isn't that enough? You can't take _everything_ away from me!"

"I can," he spat, taking another step closer to her. "And I will. Get used to it, Elphaba – I'm deciding everything for you. Everything. Where you do and do not go. What you will and will not wear. How you are going to name our children. Who you talk to, who you befriend, what you do. You. Are. Mine!"

She slapped him.

He gasped, his hand flying up to his cheek.

"I," she said, raising her chin, "do not belong to anyone."

She turned around and went to leave the room; but before she could, he had lurched forward and grabbed her wrist so tightly he was probably bruising it.

"Look at me," he ordered.

She fixed her gaze on the floor.

He grabbed her chin and forced her head up. "Look at me!" When she still refused to let her eyes meet his, he squeezed harder until she finally did look at him.

He struck her across the face so hard that her head was spinning. Her cheek stung and he brought his face closer to hers, his hot breath wafting across her skin. She closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"You will be mine, Elphaba," he whispered harshly. "No matter what you say or do, you can't talk me out of this. I will marry you and I will break you if need be. You will be everything I ever wanted my wife to be – nothing more, nothing less. Get these crazy ideas out of your head."

With that, he let go of her and left the room. She sank down to the floor, cradling her cheek and promising herself that no matter what, she would not give up.

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><p><strong>Favourite lines? :)<strong>


	5. You Are Safe

**5. You Are Safe**

When Fiyero aimlessly roamed the upper deck the next night, a figure standing at the far end of the ship caught his attention. He couldn't see who it was – just that it was a woman, judging by the skirts; but he realised the person was leaning far over the railing, looking at the waves beneath… or was she really just looking? He squinted and moved towards the person, quickening his pace when he realised she was leaning further and further down.

"Hey!" he shouted, breaking into a run. "Don't!"

He heard a shriek and the person lost her balance, falling backwards onto the deck. It wasn't until he reached her that he saw the emerald green skin and he swore his heart skipped a beat.

"Elphaba," he breathed, falling down onto his knees next to her. She was lying on her back, blinking up at the sky. "Are you alright? What in Oz were you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said, pushing herself into a sitting position and glaring at him. "I was just looking at the dolphins I saw down there, until _you _came and scared me half to death. I nearly toppled over!"

He almost laughed with relief. "You weren't trying to jump?"

She looked at him as if he were crazy. "Of course not. I know Avaric can be a bit of a jerk and my life kind of sucks, but it's not _that _bad," she sniffed, smoothing out her skirts. She was wearing a dress in beige and chocolate brown, he noted – the same colour as her eyes. He looked at her until she looked up and met his gaze.

"What?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No."

She sighed and flopped down onto her back, gazing up at the starry night sky. He joined her, lying down next to her. He mustered up the courage to take her hand and when she didn't pull away, he laced his fingers through hers, resting their joined hands between them.

"Don't," she whispered, so softly he barely caught it. "You'll only complicate things."

He looked to the side. "What things?"

She heaved a long sigh that sounded as if she was bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Avaric doesn't like me talking to you," she said quietly. "Or to Galinda, for that matter. And I don't want to let him control me… but he's going to be my husband soon. If I go against him all the time, I think I'm only going to make things that much harder for myself."

"What do you want to do, then?" he demanded. "Just give up?"

"No," she snapped, pulling her hand from his and sitting up. She glared at him. "Of course not."

He sat up, too, and looked at her, raising one eyebrow. She sighed and deflated, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know what to do."

He didn't say anything. He wanted to say something comforting, or to give her advice, but he had no idea what he could possibly say that would be of any help to her and so he just kept quiet. He wanted to touch her, too, or hug her, but he was afraid she wouldn't let him.

She stayed silent as well, just sitting there and staring ahead of her, unmoving and not making a sound. He scooted closer to her and looked at her. Her eyes were shimmering faintly and her skin almost looked a normal colour in the scarce light of the moon. He reached out to trail his finger down the smooth-looking skin of her arm, but caught himself just in time, realising he was being a little creepy. He wanted to smack himself. What was happening to him? He wasn't supposed to be creepy. He was supposed to be smooth and charming, funny, and a tad arrogant. He was Prince Fiyero Tiggular, the man all women loved and all men wanted to be like.

"Run away." The words escaped his lips before he fully realised what he was saying.

She turned her head to look at him, a sceptical expression on her face. "Run away?" she echoed. "Where should I run to? I know it's a big ship, but it's not _that _big."

"Maybe not right away," he said. "Not while we're on the ship. But once we're in Gillikin…"

She shook her head. "Where do you want me to go?" she wanted to know. "I have no-one. Everyone I know I could go to would just send me straight back to either my father or Avaric. I have nowhere to go, Fiyero."

"You could come with me."

She didn't even reply to that. She just sighed and shook her head, a wry smile playing around her lips.

"Why not?" he asked. "You could stay with me. I wouldn't let Avaric find you, and –"

"Fiyero," she cut him off. "No. I mean, it's nice of you to offer, but no. I hardly even know you. You could be a rapist or a serial killer, for all I know."

His eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into his hairline and she laughed. "Okay, you're probably not either of those, but… still. I've known for a long time that this was going to be my life and I accepted it, too. I'll just have to adjust a little, but I'll be perfectly fine, you know. I can take care of myself."

After a while, she rose to her feet again, brushing down her skirts and taking a deep breath. "Oz, I hate corsets," she muttered as she stretched her back and found the movement hampered by the tight corset she was wearing. She twisted a little in an attempt to loosen her stiff muscles and then shook her head. "Well… thank you for the talk," she said. "I'm just going to go back now."

"That's it?" He rose to his feet as well and stared at her intently, his gaze making her uncomfortable. "You're just going to go back?"

"I told you, Fiyero. I can take care of myself." She gently but firmly pushed him aside and brushed past him, clearly intending to return to her rooms.

A faint shadow caught his gaze then and he frowned. "What is that?"

"What is _what_?"

"That." He pointed at her face. Her hand instantly came up to lightly touch the coloured spot on her cheek with the pads of her fingers and he took a step closer to her. It was hard to tell in the dark, but there was clearly a mark on her cheek. "Is that…"

She abruptly turned, her skirts making a swishing sound as she did so. "Goodnight, Fiyero."

He caught her wrist, pulling her back to him. A small yelp escaped her lips and he then noticed the dark spots on her wrist as well. He sucked in his breath. "Did Avaric…"

"It's not important, Fiyero," she said impatiently, yanking her hand back, her eyes flaming, "and it's also _none _of your business."

"Does he do that often?" the prince demanded. She didn't want to answer him, he could tell. She tried to move away from him again, but he blocked her path. "Elphaba?"

She sighed irritably. "No. He's never done it before. I just… challenged him and he got mad. And then I slapped him," she added. "I deserved it. I let my temper get the better of me and he let his temper get the better of him. That's all. Now will you let me go?"

"No," he protested. "Elph-"

But she was already gone, having hurried off into the night, and he had no choice but to return to his own cabin and think of her again for the rest of the night, feeling powerless to do anything else.

* * *

><p>Elphaba was sprawled on the couch, reading a book, when Avaric entered the room. She quickly sat up and assumed a more proper position, running her fingers through her hair self-consciously.<p>

She kept her eyes on her book, hoping he would just go on with his own business, but she could feel his eyes on her. He took a step closer and then stopped again, as if he wasn't sure what he should do.

Then he said, "I'm sorry."

Her eyes flew up to his in surprise and he slowly approached her before stopping again.

"I lost my temper," he said, "and I apologise. You're right – I know you're trying your best and I do appreciate that. I should not have hurt you and perhaps I overreacted a little when it comes to Miss Galinda and Master Fiyero. I am sorry."

She looked at him for a few moments, wondering if he was being serious, but she saw no proof of the contrary in his face or his eyes.

"I'm sorry, too," she said finally. "I shouldn't have slapped you, but my father probably already told you that my temper is pretty bad as well."

Avaric's lips twitched in a small smile. "Alright." He reached into the pocket of his coat and retrieved a small box from it. "I have something for you. Consider it a peace offering."

She put her book away and rose to her feet, curious as to what he might have gotten her. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver hair clasp, laid in with small gemstones in the exact same shade of green as her skin – she suspected them to be real emeralds.

She gasped softly and he smiled, taking it out of the box so that she could see it better. "Do you like it? It cost me a small fortune, but I reasoned that an apology for losing one's temper with a lady should be accompanied by something meaningful."

"I love it," she said, and she meant it, too. She had never been one for jewellery and pretty things, but this hair clasp truly was beautiful. "Thank you."

His smile widened. He gently turned her around and gathered up her hair, twisting it and securing it with the hair clasp.

"It was made for you," he said, planting a kiss at the base of her now-exposed neck. She jumped a little, but forced herself to smile as well as she turned back to him.

"Your father talked to me," said Avaric, "and Nessarose did, too. They convinced me of the fact that Miss Galinda and Master Fiyero really are not such bad people for you to socialise with and that you really enjoy their company…"

"I do," Elphaba admitted.

He nodded. "Of course you are free to keep seeing them," he said. "I was angry yesterday and maybe I was being unfair. I do believe you respect me as your soon-to-be husband, Elphaba, and I trust that you would not do anything that might embarrass me."

"Of course not," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Good." He reached out to lightly touch the hair clasp now holding her raven tresses up. "It really does suit you," he commented, before moving his fingers to touch her cheek instead, pulling her in to kiss her. She let him, afraid that if she did anything to anger him now, he would take back everything he just told her.

He left the room after that to play cards with some of the other men and she moved across the room, staring at her own mirror image. Twisting her head in order to be able to see the hair clasp, she had to admit that it did look gorgeous. She wondered what had brought about this change in him. Had he really just realised how unreasonably he had been behaving? Had her father or Nessa convinced him of that fact?

No matter what the reason for his behaviour was, though, she was glad to see it. This whole marriage thing would be so much easier for them both if they managed to get along with one another, and she felt optimistic now that maybe they could make this work after all.


	6. Of Dances and Nicknames

**AN: "I'm starting to enjoy this story more than the original movie" must be the biggest compliment ever, so a shout-out to PhantomoftheBarricade1832. Thank you so much!**

**Don't worry, you'll hate Avaric's guts again soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy something that is not quite Fiyeraba fluff, but is approaching it :).**

* * *

><p><strong>6. Of Dances and Nicknames<strong>

When Elphaba saw a certain Vinkun prince standing at the bar when she entered the ballroom that night, her face lit up and she made her way over to him with a smile. "You're back!"

He grinned at her, putting down his drink and bowing for her. "Of course I am. I couldn't let you sit here all by yourself."

"You did for the past five days," she pointed out to him and he chuckled.

"True. I'm sorry. Though I don't think it has been more than four days," he said.

She shook her head. "No, it's definitely been five," she said firmly.

He raised one eyebrow. "Have you been counting?" he teased her, loving the blush that tinted her cheeks.

"No."

He laughed. "Well, I am sorry, but it's hard to sneak up to here every day," he explained. "Not all staff members are willing to let me through just because I tell them I'm the crown prince of the Vinkus."

Elphaba looked confused and he realised she didn't know. "I, um… I'm travelling second class," he said sheepishly, looking away. "My parents cut me off."

Part of him expected her to look at him with contempt, but she just laughed. "They cut you off?" She shook her head. "The stories about the scandalacious party prince are true, then?"

He grimaced and rubbed his neck. "Yeah…" he said faintly. "I guess you could say that."

She was still chuckling as she linked her arm with his. "Come on, let's dance. I'm bored."

As they swayed together on the dance floor, he brought his hand up to gently touch her cheek. "How's your bruise?"

She brushed him off. "It's fine."

"Won't Avaric get mad at you for dancing with me?"

"Fiyero," she said warningly, but he shook his head.

"I'm not trying to make him look bad or something," he said. "I just don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I love dancing with you, but not if it has bad consequences for you."

She softened at that. "He won't be mad," she said, smiling at Fiyero. "We talked this afternoon and he apologised. I did, too. He gave me a present to make it up to me and he said he'd try to not lose his temper again. I can keep seeing both you and Galinda, Fiyero, don't worry."

"That's good," he said.

She smiled softly. "Yeah."

She usually wasn't really one for dancing, but she did love to dance with him. He was a very skilled dancer and he led her through the steps and movements without forcing her. His arms were strong, his hand warm where it was placed on her waist, and their fingers seemed to fit together perfectly. It was so different from dancing with Avaric, whose grip on her was usually vice-like and who all but dragged her with him across the dance floor.

"So…" she said after a while, when the song was over and they sat down for a few moments to catch their breaths. "How much of your reputation is true?"

He coloured and cleared his throat. "Um…"

She playfully nudged his side. "Don't be ashamed. It's the past – I won't hold it against you. I'm just curious."

Feeling a bit better at that, he conceded, "A lot of it is true."

She just kept looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate, which he then did.

"I got flunked out of a few universities," he said. "Expelled from some others. I pulled a lot of pranks and threw a lot of parties. I drank and I fooled around with girls a bit, though nothing serious – I never really cared about any of them, and they didn't care about me, either. They just wanted a chance to spend some time with the famous Vinkun prince."

Elphaba nodded in understanding and Galinda, who was sitting on the green girl's other side and had overheard their conversation, bent closer to the couple. "_I _would have liked a chance to spend some time with the famous Vinkun prince," she said conspiratorially, with a small giggle and a wink at Elphaba, "if Elphie hadn't stolen him away from me already."

Fiyero grinned at that, but Elphaba flushed. "I didn't steal anyone away, Galinda!" she hissed, shaking her head. "We're just friends!"

Galinda giggled again. "That's right, I forgot. Sorry."

Elphaba squeezed her friend's arm tightly. "Don't say such things," she begged her friend in a whisper. "If Avaric hears you, or if anyone else hears and tells him…"

Galinda immediately sobered and nodded, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't think of that. It won't happen again."

Fiyero was frowning now. "Elphaba…"

"I'm engaged," she reminded him. "There's a thin line between friendship and something else, Fiyero."

"No, there's not," he began, but she cut him off.

"There is to all these people," she said, making a vague gesture to indicate everyone around her. "Don't play stupid with me, Fiyero. I like spending time with you, too, but we have to be careful. If we give anyone the impression that something more is going on, they'll run straight to either Avaric or my father; and Oz knows that whatever they will do, it will not be pretty."

"I won't say another word about it," Galinda promised and Elphaba smiled at her.

"Thanks, Glin."

The blonde's face brightened. "Glin," she echoed, smiling widely. "That's a nice nickname, Elphie. You're getting better at these things! So I can call you Elphie, and you can call me Glin… what shall we call Fiyero?"

He spluttered. "How about you just call me 'Fiyero'?" he suggested quickly, but Galinda was giggling behind her hand now, eyes dancing mischievously.

"I think 'Fifi' suits him."

Elphaba nearly choked on her drink and Fiyero groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Fifi, Glin, and Elphie," Galinda sang out, clapping her hands. "Perfect. Now, if you two will excuse me – there's a really handsome man over there and I'm going to try and get his attention." With that, she rose to her feet and started making her way over to the man, swaying her hips and tossing her blonde curls over her shoulder as she went.

Elphaba was grinning and Fiyero still had his face buried in his hands.

"Where does that girl _come _from?!" he demanded. "I'm pretty sure I've never met anyone like her in my entire life."

Elphaba laughed. "Me, neither. But then again," she said, pretending to toss her hair in imitation of Galinda, "she _is _Galinda Upland of the _Upper _Uplands. I think she would be highly offended if anyone _was _like her."

Fiyero laughed, too. "True."

"So," Elphaba began, that same mischievous twinkle in her eyes Galinda had had only moments before. "Fifi?"

"No," he said pleadingly, wildly shaking his head. "Please don't."

"Such nice weather we had today – don't you think so, Fifi?"

"Elphaba, please?"

"What's the matter, Fifi?" she chortled and he cast his eyes heavenwards.

"Please have mercy on me," he begged, though he was begging Elphaba or some higher power above, the green girl wasn't sure.

"Mercy, Fifi? Let me think about that." She tilted her head a little to the side and thoughtfully tapped her cheek with her index finger. "No."

Fiyero grunted. "Fine, then. You asked for it… Elphie."

Now it was her turn to flush and he grinned wickedly at her. "What? You don't like that nickname?"

"Fine, fine, point taken," she said, grinning back at him.

"You could give me a nickname of your own," he suggested, at which she arched an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?" she wanted to know. "What's wrong with your name?"

"_You _have nicknames," he pointed out and she made a face.

"Well, I didn't exactly _ask_ Galinda to start calling me 'Elphie'," she muttered. "She just wouldn't stop. And as for Nessa… she's been calling me 'Fabala' ever since we were small. I'm a grown woman now, Fiyero. I don't need a nickname."

"Hasn't Avaric given you one?"

She rolled her eyes. "Does Avaric look like the type of person who calls people by nicknames?" she asked sarcastically. "It's special for him to even call me just 'Elphaba', without an honorific. He usually sticks with 'Miss Elphaba'. Or 'darling'," she added as an afterthought, "which I hate even more, because he always says it like he's calling his dog."

Fiyero looked at her in horror. "But he's your fiancé!"

"It's not like either of us really loves the other," she said, but she wouldn't say anything else on the subject. She didn't want to talk about Avaric. Once they'd arrive in Gillikin, she would have to spend the rest of her life with him – she wanted to enjoy as much Avaric-free time as she could until then.

Fiyero seemed to understand that, because he changed the subject. "It's not true, by the way. What you said about the weather."

She looked at him quizzically and he elaborated, "You said 'such nice weather we had today'. We didn't. It was cold."

She laughed. "We're still near Munchkinland – it's always cold there," she said. "I like the cold."

He made a face. "Really?" He pretended to shudder and took a sip from his drink. "You won't like the Vinkus, then. It's almost always warm there," he said.

"Isn't it really hot there now?"

He nodded. "Which is why I _really _hated having to spend half of my summer in Munchkinland with my aunt and uncle," he said. "Not because I don't like my aunt and uncle – they're great – but because it was _cold _in Munchkinland."

"Well, it will be warm again in Gillikin," she pointed out to him with a small grin and he sighed dramatically.

"Why can't all provinces of Oz just be equally hot or cold?" he demanded of no-one in particular.

Elphaba was stifling laughter. "Because that's not how it works, Fiyero."

"I know," he grumbled.

She raised an eyebrow.

"It just doesn't make sense to me," he declared. "It would be much more logical for the weather patterns to be the same everywhere." He folded his arms and leant back in his chair, looking like a stubborn child.

"You know what?"

He looked at her. "What?"

"You really are a spoilt prince," she said. The fond tone of her voice, though, as well as the smile playing around her lips, softened the sting of her words. He'd usually get mad whenever someone said such things about him; but from her lips, it almost sounded like a compliment.

"Elphaba!" Frexspar Thropp, who had walked up to them and overheard his daughter's last statement, chided her. He looked mortified. "You cannot say such things to people – especially not to royalty! Have you completely lost your mind?"

"It's alright, Governor Thropp," Fiyero interjected, smiling reassuringly at the older man. "Don't worry – your daughter has not been behaving inappropriately at all. I was just being obnoxious."

Frex was frowning, but didn't press the issue. "Elphaba," he addressed the green girl, "I just came to say that Nessarose and I will be retreating to our rooms now – your sister is rather tired. Avaric is staying here, but we will see you two again in the morning."

She nodded. "Okay."

He nodded, too. "Behave."

"I will." She watched him leave and she gave a small wave when Nessarose looked over her shoulder. The younger girl waved back and then they disappeared from the room.

Elphaba turned back to face Fiyero. "I'm glad you don't think I have been behaving inappropriately," she said sarcastically, at which he chuckled.

"Well, I do consider the fact that you refuse to give me a nickname a bit rude," he teased her and she sighed, casting her eyes heavenwards.

"Alright then, Fifi."

He cringed. "Not that one," he admonished her. "You need to come up with one of your own."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, Yero."

He grinned happily at her. "There you go. I like that one," he said. "My parents used it, too… until I started driving them crazy to the point where the only name they ever called me by anymore was "_Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!_"." He made a face, but she could tell that he was a little ashamed.

"You were young," she said. "You were just trying to run away from your responsibilities."

He sighed. "I still am. I just… wish I could make my parents understand how hard it is for me," he said, lowering his eyes. "At the time, I felt like the only way to show them was to act out… and by the time I realised I was wrong, they didn't really take me seriously anymore. I don't think they even know how I feel about all this, and I don't know how to tell them…"

Elphaba thought about that for a few moments. She felt bad for Fiyero – she knew what it was like to have a family that didn't really listen to you… but Fiyero's parents sounded reasonable enough to understand if he'd just talk to them. "Maybe you can write it down," she suggested, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Send it to them in a letter. I always find that when it's hard for me to say something, writing it down can help. That way, you can really think about everything you want to say, and make it as clear as possible for them to understand."

Fiyero looked at her in mild amazement. "You know what?" he said. "That's a really good idea. You're brilliant, did you know that?"

She smiled self-consciously and he put his hand over hers and squeezed softly. "Thanks, Fae."

Both her eyebrows shot up. "Fae?" she echoed curiously and he grinned at her.

"That's my nickname for you," he declared, leaning back in his chair.

"Why?" she wanted to know, amused. "It doesn't sound anything like my name. I thought you'd come up with 'El', or something."

He shook his head. "Everyone is going to call you 'El'," he said. "All your friends and whoever else you meet that is going to give you a nickname. I want a nickname that no-one else is ever going to call you by, and 'Fae' seems to suit you, somehow. So 'Fae' it is."

"Alright then." She smiled. "It's better than 'Elphie', at least," she said with a chuckle. "But then again," she added, "pretty much any nickname is."

"So you approve, then?" Fiyero asked hopefully and she laughed at his enthusiastic face.

"Yes," she said. "I approve."

He smiled. "Good."

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><p><strong>Virtual kruidnoten for the ones who can guess my own favourite line from this chapter :).<strong>


	7. Defying Gravity

**AN: My favourite line from the previous chapter was when Elphaba calls him Yero and he says that his parents used that one, too, "...until I started driving them crazy to the point where the only name they ever called me by anymore was "_Fiyero Hamold Tiggular!_"." :)**

**I hope you'll like this chapter... I know for sure you'll like the next one!**

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><p><strong>7. Defying Gravity<strong>

Elphaba felt exhausted.

She had spent the day with Galinda and Nessarose, wandering around the ship and allowing one of the builders of the ship to give them a tour, at Galinda's request. He had explained to them all the technicalities of the ship – which Elphaba was immensely interested in, while the other two girls couldn't care less – and showed them everything. Afterwards, the girls had tea on deck and then returned to their respective rooms to dress for dinner.

Dinner, as usual, had been horrible. She had been seated between Avaric and her father, which means she was ignored by everyone within earshot. Galinda had shot her sympathetic glances from across the table, but she had been talking animatedly to Nessarose throughout the entire affair. Frex refused to even look at his green daughter and Avaric only ordered her harshly to sit up straighter, eat with more grace, or smile, every now and then.

After dinner, though, Elphaba sneaked out to one of the lower decks and roamed it for a bit, unsure of what to do, but unwilling to return. It was much calmer here; none of the women were babbling as much as they usually did on the top deck. People were taking walks or having fun, parents playing with their children and young women Elphaba's age chasing each other around, laughing. Elphaba watched them wistfully, wishing with her whole heart that she could be one of those girls. That she could play like that without consequences. That she could live carelessly, having fun with whom she liked, instead of having to put on a mask and be perfect all the time. She wasn't meant for perfect. The fact that she had been born with green skin proved that more than anything.

That was how Fiyero found her, leaning on the railing and watching the people on the deck below, where the third class was, as they went about their business. He stepped up next to her and she looked at him, though she didn't say anything.

He broke the silence after a while. "Are you alright?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

She didn't say anything else, and he didn't press the issue.

"Come on," he said after a while, pushing himself away from the railing and holding out his hand for her to take. "I want to show you something."

She was a bit wary, but she allowed him to take her hand and lead her over to the bow of the ship, all the way in the front.

"Close your eyes," he said, which she did. She could almost _feel _him smile as he took her hands and guided her over to a certain spot.

"Step up," he said. "Don't be afraid. Keep your eyes closed."

She took a step up to stand on the railing, wobbling a little, but Fiyero's hands on her waist steadied her. She inhaled sharply when she felt his hands move away from her waist, but relaxed again when he slid them along her arms, spreading them.

"Ready?" he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her hair. She nodded.

"Open your eyes," he said, and she did.

She sucked in her breath again when she realised she was standing on the railing on the bow of the ship, looking out over the sea below her and the sky above. They met in the middle, a horizon in orange, blue, gold, and pink, the setting sun illuminating it all. She could feel the wind blowing through her hair and she closed her eyes again, a wide smile slowly spreading across her face. It felt like she was flying.

"And?" Fiyero whispered in her ear. "How does it feel?"

Her smile widened even further and she opened her eyes again. "Like I'm free," she said. "Like I'm… I'm defying gravity… and no-one can bring me down."

He smiled, too. "I'm glad you like it. I love your smile," he said, which made her blush a little. "I almost never see you smile. Really smile, I mean – not that fake smile you always wear around your father and Avaric."

She chuckled mirthlessly. At least she had succeeded in learning how to fake-smile like all those other society women.

"Yes, well," she said, still staring out across the sea, "I don't have much to smile about. Thank you," she added before he could respond to that. She turned her head to look at him. Her breath caught in her throat when she realised how close he was, but she didn't move away. "For showing me this."

He slipped his hands down her arms to wrap around her waist instead. "You're welcome."

She turned her head back and they stood like that for a while longer, he with his arms around her waist to steady her, with his cheek pressed against her back; and she standing on the railing, her arms still spread. She closed her eyes again and raised her face to the sky, enjoying this feeling she had never felt before and would probably never feel again.

The moment was broken by a voice calling her name. "Elphaba?"

Her eyes flew open and she half-turned, nearly losing her balance and toppling down, but Fiyero tightened his grip on her just in time. "Careful."

He helped her down and she pushed her hands through her long, ebony hair, trying to smoothen it out, but she already knew it would probably be of no use – she was wearing it loose and the wind had been whipping it around her head ever since she had first set foot on deck.

"Father," she said, forcing herself to smile even though she knew how this looked to Frexspar. Her hair in tangles, her cheeks red and her eyes sparkling… and Fiyero right behind her.

Indeed the governor pressed his lips together to form a thin line. "Could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked her, his eyes flicking towards Fiyero briefly. "Alone?"

She nodded. "Of course." She gave Fiyero an apologetic look over her shoulder even as Frex started pulling her away, but the prince just smiled sympathetically.

"Elphaba," Frexspar hissed as he led her inside, his grip on her upper arm tight. "Why were you even on that deck? That is for second-class passengers, Elphaba – you do not want to be seen there! And what do you think you're doing with that boy?"

"Nothing!" she protested. "I was just roaming the deck and admiring the sunset, and Fiyero showed me that spot at the bow of the ship. It gave the most amazing view of the sea and the sky, but that's all, Father, I swear."

He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "For Oz's sake, Elphaba. Don't you know what people will think if they see you two together like that?" he wanted to know. "Don't you have any respect for me? For your _husband_?"

"He's not my husband yet," she corrected him icily. "And I am not his property. I wasn't doing anything inappropriate, Father. I was just spending time with a friend."

"Yes, well, that's over now," Frexspar snapped. "From now on, you are not to spend time with anyone from the opposite sex that is not either your fiancé or your father. Is that clear? Aside from Avaric and I, no man is coming near you again until we arrive in Gillikin, understood?"

She yanked her arm free, eyes blazing. "No."

"_What _did you just say?"

"I said no," she repeated, looking back at him defiantly. "You and Avaric – you're exactly the same. You're trying to control me. But I'm not letting you. You don't tell me what to do!"

Frexspar's eyes grew very cold suddenly.

"You're right," he said. "I don't tell you what to do. Not anymore." He grabbed her arm again and roughly pulled her into a room.

Avaric turned around, a cigar in his hand and a surprised expression on his face. "Governor Thropp? What…"

"He does," Frex told his daughter, pushing her towards the other man. "You're not mine anymore – you're his. Master Avaric," he addressed the younger man, "I found her fooling around with Prince Fiyero once again."

"I was not 'fooling around'!" Elphaba protested hotly. "We weren't doing anything!"

"Deal with her," was all Frex said to Avaric before he left the room.

Avaric sighed and rubbed his forehead. "For Oz's sake, Elphaba…"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Sure you didn't," he snarled. "But did it maybe _look _like you did something? Have you thought of that? Image is everything, Elphaba. How many more times do I have to tell you that? If people notice how often you spend time with that prince, what do you think _they _will think? They'll think you're cheating on me. They'll think that I'm not able to control you. They'll think _you _a slut and _me _a worthless man and husband!"

Elphaba lowered her eyes.

"I want you to stop this behaviour," he ordered, pushing his cigar out and pouring himself a glass of whiskey instead. "And I want you to be honest with me, too. Is anything going on between you and that prince? Because you _have _been spending an awful lot of time lately."

She shook her head vigorously. "Nothing's going on," she insisted. "He's just a good friend."

"Huh." Avaric sipped his drink. "Careful, though, little green girl." He narrowed his eyes at her over his glass. "I'm watching you. Don't disgrace me."

She glared at him and disappeared to the bedroom, flopping down on the bed and wondering if this was really going to be her life from now on.

* * *

><p>"You look awfully gloomy."<p>

Fiyero gave the man standing beside him at the railing a sheepish look. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Is it that obvious?"

The other man, who was short and thin and had friendly brown eyes, chuckled. "Kind of. What's the matter?"

Fiyero sighed heavily. "I'm in love with a girl I can never have."

The shorter man sighed, too, and mirrored Fiyero's position beside him. "Ouch. I know how that feels."

Fiyero looked at him curiously. "You do?"

The man, whom Fiyero now realised must be a Munchkin – that explained his height – nodded wistfully. "A society dame," he said. "The most beautiful girl ever to grace this ship with her presence… she's up there." He pointed at something above them and Fiyero was confused at first, but then he gave the Munchkin a sympathetic look.

"Did she pass away?" he asked carefully.

The Munchkin looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "What? No." He realised why the prince had thought that and he laughed. "I wasn't pointing at the sky – I meant the first-class deck," he clarified, clearly amused.

Fiyero felt his face grow warm. "Oh. Yeah. Of course."

The other man laughed. "Her name is Miss Galinda," he said. "Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. She has golden curls that shine in the sun, a skin pale as a white rose, lips like cherries, and eyes like the sparkling blue ocean… and I can't even talk to her, let alone something more."

"I know her," Fiyero said and the Munchkin's head shot up.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Fiyero nodded. "I've been to the first-class level a couple of times," he said. "I'm travelling second class, but it's easy to sneak up when you're me. I'm Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus," he introduced himself, shaking the other man's hand.

"Wow," the man said, clearly in awe. "I'm Boq. Boq Parlone. I'm from Munchkinland."

Fiyero smirked. "Obviously."

"Yeah, yeah." Boq rolled his eyes. "I'm small. I know. Tell me more about Miss Galinda," he urged the prince, who complied.

"I've talked to her a couple of times," he said. "She's very friendly, perky, and pink-obsessed. She talks a lot. She's a real lady, but she's funny to be around. She also happens to be the best friend of my own love interest," he added, sighing once again.

Boq perked up at that. "Really? What's her name?" he asked, intrigued.

"Elphaba Thropp," Fiyero said. "She's the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland, Frexspar Thropp."

Boq was frowning. "Is she in a wheelchair?"

"No." Fiyero shook his head. "That's her younger sister, Nessarose. Elphaba is the eldest daughter."

"The green one," Boq stated and for some reason Fiyero felt offended on Elphaba's behalf.

"Yes," he said defensively. "But it's a beautiful colour."

Boq grinned at him. "I wasn't saying anything about her skin colour being ugly or beautiful, Fiyero. I was just stating which colour it is. Man, you've got it bad," he said, shaking his head.

Fiyero poked out his tongue childishly. "Look who's talking."

"Why can't you be with her, though?" Boq wanted to know. "You're a prince, she's a high-born governor's daughter… you could be together."

Fiyero shook his head, feeling miserable. "Not really," he said, sighing once again. "She's engaged."

Boq grimaced sympathetically. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Fiyero stared out over the railing. "To a jerk."

Boq stomped his arm. "That sounds like you could use a drink," he said, raising his eyebrow suggestively. "Want to go inside?"

"Only if you pay," Fiyero said, grinning at the Munchkin. "I may be a prince, but I'm currently broke."

Boq rolled his eyes. "Sure," he said, laughing. "My treat."


	8. Love Can Touch Us One Time

**AN: This AN was supposed to be a happy one, about the film premiere and about Musicals in Concert... and that will come - later. For now, however, ****I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my neighbour, who passed away of cancer last night.**

**He was one of the kindest and warmest men I have ever known and we will all miss him very much. Ad, thank you for everything - the books you let me borrow, the conversations, the dishes you made and brought over to let me taste... RIP. 3**

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><p><strong>8. Love Can Touch Us One Time<strong>

When Fiyero approached the bow of the ship and saw her standing there, he couldn't help but smile. She looked beautiful in a simple black dress, with her hair in a braid and ballerina flats on her feet. Like this, without the expensive fabrics, high heels, and shiny jewellery she usually wore, she looked more natural, somehow. Like she was more in her element like this than she had ever been in a corset and with her hair pinned up.

Not wanting to startle her, he called out to her. "Enjoying the view?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "It's not by far as beautiful as it was the other night," she said, clearly regretting that fact, but Fiyero just chuckled as he moved closer to her.

"I'm glad you had fun," he said. "I did, too."

He joined her at the railing and she hesitated only briefly before she rested her head on his shoulder. His heart soared, but he didn't dare let it show.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked casually. "I haven't seen you in a few days."

She shrugged. "Spent time with Galinda and Nessa," she said. "Sat there and looked pretty while everyone else around me was having 'sophisticated' fun. Avaric took me to the theatre one night – did you know they even have a theatre on this ship? I didn't, but Avaric showed me. I think he was just trying to placate me into being his obedient little pet, but I didn't really care – the theatre is one of the very few forms of high-class entertainment I actually enjoy. The play we saw was lovely… I just wish I could have seen it with you instead. Or with Galinda," she added as an afterthought, a slight blush creeping up into her cheeks. "Or with anyone who is not Avaric, really."

"Well…" He hesitated, unsure of whether he could suggest this or not; but then he blurted out, "If you could get away from Avaric one night, maybe I could take you again. To the theatre, I mean."

She grinned at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning back.

She smirked. "And how are you going to pay for that?"

"I…" He faltered, realising she had a point. He didn't have any money – by far not enough to pay two tickets for the theatre on a luxurious cruise ship, that was for sure.

Elphaba chortled. "Oh, Yero, it was very sweet of you to suggest that… and I'd love to," she said sincerely. "But I can't. Avaric hardly ever lets me out of his sight."

Fiyero's face fell and he sighed, leaning his elbows on the railing and huffing like a spoilt child. "It's not fair."

She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Life never is, Fiyero."

She looked around, her demeanour a bit skittish. "I should go. I'm sorry – I can't really let myself be seen here anymore," she said, sighing. She pulled the ribbon from her hair and started pulling it loose from the braid, running her fingers through it. "My father doesn't think it's proper for an upper-class young lady to be seen on the second-class deck." She rolled her eyes.

Fiyero snorted. "Oh, please."

"I know." She sighed again. "But he'll be furious if he catches me here again."

"Come on, then." Fiyero took her hand and tugged at it. "Let's get out of here."

She turned large, questioning eyes on him and he pulled her with him across the deck and back inside, through some hallways and into a common room. It was empty at the moment and Fiyero turned to face her.

"There," he said. "At least now we can talk freely without having to worry about anyone seeing us."

She looked up at him, biting her lip. She seemed a bit hesitant and he was just about to ask her what was going on when she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

He was so startled he didn't even respond at first; but then he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, kissing her back. It was a soft and relatively light kiss and it didn't last very long, but Fiyero felt dizzy and giddy when he finally pulled away.

Elphaba was biting her lip again, looking down. "I'm sorry."

He let out an incredulous laugh. "Are you serious? Fae," he tilted her chin up so that she would meet his eyes, "you have nothing to be sorry for."

A hesitant smile spread across her face and she nodded, blushing a little. "Okay." Then her face darkened and she pushed her fingers through her hair again. "Oz, what am I even doing? I can't… I mean, we can't… if Avaric ever finds out, or my father –"

"Hey, hey, hey." He cupped her face, making her look at him again.

"It's okay," he told her. "No-one saw us – there's no-one here. And I understand you can't do this. You're engaged. It doesn't have to happen again."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "What if I want it to happen again?"

He swore his heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"Never mind." She looked away, but he caught her chin again to bring her back to him and he kissed her again, a little firmer than before. She responded immediately, slipping her arms around his neck as they kissed.

"We shouldn't," she breathed at some point when they broke apart to breathe. His forehead was resting against hers, one hand on her back and the other tangled in her hair. He could feel her breath on his lips when she spoke.

He started to pull away. "If you want to stop –"

"No," she cut him off, kissing him again.

"But –"

"Stop talking."

He pushed her away gently, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Fae," he said. "I don't want to get you into trouble."

She pushed her fingers through her hair in a frustrated gesture. "I'm getting myself into trouble, regardless of what I do!" she burst out. "I feel like a child, constantly being supervised by Avaric and by Father! I don't even want to think about this now, Fiyero. I like you. A lot. This is the first time in my life I'm kissing someone because I actually want to." She looked up at him. "There's no-one here to see us," she said. "I mean… I know nothing can happen, and… and whatever this is can't last… but can we please just not talk about that right now?"

"Okay," he whispered, lowering his face to hers again. This kiss was fiery, passionate; he gently pushed her against a wall and she laid her hands flat against his chest, losing herself in this feeling of being in his arms with his lips on hers and his scent enveloping her.

It seemed to last forever and at the same time it seemed only moments later that they broke apart again. She lowered her gaze, staring at one of the buttons on his shirt. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"I have to go back," she whispered after a while. "Avaric is probably going to start looking for me soon."

Fiyero nodded, but he didn't let go of her. Instead he leant down to kiss her once more.

She closed her eyes and let him. She never wanted to stop kissing him… but if she didn't go soon, she might never get to do it again.

She tore herself away from him and took a deep breath. "I have to go." She gently drew away from him until he finally let go of her. He was watching her with a sad look on his face that she could hardly bear. She knew how he felt, too. What she wouldn't give to stay here with him, rather than go back to Avaric and her family…

"He is out for lunch tomorrow with a few businessmen," she said in an impulse. "They're going to the finest restaurant on board. They'll probably stay there for a few hours, at least." She bit her lip. "I promised Father and Nessa that I would have lunch with them, but I'll think of something." She looked up at him, silently asking him to agree – which he did, of course. His eyes lit up.

"Are you sure?" he asked, worried.

She nodded. "I'll meet you here at one o'clock," she said.

He cupped her face and kissed her gently one last time, squeezing her hand.

Then she turned and left in a hurry.

* * *

><p>"Elphaba?" Frexspar called, knocking on the door. "Are you ready? Don't keep us waiting!"<p>

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes – thanks to a bit of dark eye shadow. She looked tired, which wasn't even intentional, but she hadn't slept well ever since she had first set foot on this ship and was forced to share her rooms with Avaric. Despite the fact that he was a gentleman and would probably never make a move at her until their wedding night, she was still afraid, somehow, to find him hovering over her at night, which affected the amount of rest she got each night.

She opened the door and tried to make her voice sound hoarse. "I'm sorry, Father," she said, blinking up at him. "I don't think I should join you and Nessa for lunch today. I haven't been feeling well all morning."

Frex frowned and placed a hand against her forehead. "Do you have a fever?" he demanded.

She shrugged listlessly and he glanced over his shoulder at his youngest daughter.

"Don't come closer, Nessa," he warned. "You don't want to get sick as well." He looked at Elphaba again. "Well then, I don't suppose there is much use in taking the risk of you infecting us. Get some rest, Elphaba – you look horrible." With that, he walked away.

Elphaba closed the door behind him and immediately went into the bathroom to wash the eye shadow from her face. She re-applied some make-up – something her father always insisted on, since she was supposed to be a lady – and ran a hairbrush through her tangled raven tresses before slipping out of the room and into the hallway.

When she turned the corner, however, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Galinda, who was leaning against the wall, arched an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Elphaba spluttered something unintelligible and the blonde giggled. "Oh, Elphie. I _knew _you weren't sick, I just knew it. When I met your father and Nessa in the hallway and they told me you weren't feeling well, I suspected something." She tilted her head a little to the side, blonde curls tumbling over her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"To… get some aspirin?" Elphaba tried, but Galinda just giggled again.

"You're going to see Fiyero." She watched smugly as Elphaba's eyes widened. "Aren't you? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she said immediately upon seeing the panicked look on her friend's face. "I have a keen eye for these things, you know. I figured this would happen from the moment I first saw you two dance."

She came closer and squeezed Elphaba's arm. "Be careful, Elphie," she warned her. "If your father finds out, or Avaric…"

"I know," Elphaba whispered, looking down. She shook her head. "Oz, I should not be doing this…"

"Did you two kiss?"

The green girl bit her lip. "Yes."

Galinda squealed. "Was it any good?"

Elphaba buried her face in her hands to hide her fierce blush. "Yes."

"Oh, Elphie!" The blonde girl threw her arms around her friend in a hug. "I'm really happy for you that you get to experience this before you marry Avaric," she told Elphaba. "Just… please be careful, okay? He is still your fiancé. You won't be able to get out of marrying him. You know that, right?" Without waiting for a reply, she rambled on, "Well, I'll be in my room if you need me. If anything happens, I'll try to cover for you, okay?" With that, she bounded down the hallway.

Elphaba, however, had stilled completely.

Because Galinda was right. What was she even thinking? She _wasn't _going to be able to get out of marrying Avaric. Never in her entire life. No matter what this thing was that she felt for Fiyero, she had to push it away. It would only end up hurting her – in more than one way if Avaric ever found out, that much was for sure.

She pushed herself away from the wall and took a deep breath. She was going to have to tell Fiyero they could not see one another again.


	9. In My Heart

**AN: Thank you all. It's really sad, but I guess everyone is hanging in there... it's his two grandchildren's birthday today, which really sucks.**

**Kudos to Alex-samsprout for being the 100th reviewer of this story! :)**

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><p><strong>9. In My Heart<strong>

"Fiyero?" she murmured against his lips. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. "I, um… I came to… to tell you something…" She gasped when his lips found her neck and her eyes closed of their own accord. There was something, something important, something she had to talk to him about… but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was.

"Mm." He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. "What?"

She looked back. His eyes were the most beautiful azure blue colour – the colour of sapphires, maybe… _no_, she thought as she studied them closer, _the colour of the sea_. That seemed more appropriate, since she found that she could effortlessly drown in them.

"Fae?" he prodded gently, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked, dazed.

He chuckled throatily. "You wanted to tell me something."

"Oh." She thought about it. Only then did she remember her conversation with Glinda in the hallway and her face fell. "Right. Yero, I… I don't think we should see each other again," she whispered.

The light seemed to fade from his eyes and she hated herself for that.

"It's okay," he said. "I understand."

She knew he did, which was maybe the worst part. He _did _understand. How could she possibly not fall in love with him? Despite everything she had heard about him – the pranks, the partying, his scandalacious reputation – that was not what she saw when she looked at him. What she saw was the kindest, handsomest, most chivalrous man she had ever met in her life… and it was killing her to even say this to him, but she had to. She knew she had to.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice sounding a little strangled. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"It's alright, Fae," he said, letting go of her and taking a step back. "You're right. I know you're right. Go on." He motioned for her to get back. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

She hesitated. "Fiyero –"

"You're engaged, Elphaba," he said quietly. "I knew from the start this couldn't last. It's okay, really. Just… go before I change my mind."

She almost disregarded her common sense and threw herself back into his arms.

Almost.

"Bye," she whispered, before turning around and all but running down the hallways, back to her rooms, where she collapsed on the couch and buried her face in a pillow. She had already let this get too far. She had done the right thing just now, she knew that.

She stayed like that for a long time before getting up and going to the bathroom. Without looking at her reflection, she washed her face clean of make-up again and then flopped into an arm chair with a book. She tried to read for a while, but she couldn't concentrate.

When finally the door opened and Avaric came in, she felt almost relieved at the distraction.

He frowned at her when he saw her. "You look terrible," was his greeting.

She lowered her eyes, not saying anything. The fact that he thought so said enough – she hadn't even tried to make herself look ill this time. Maybe she did look as bad as she felt.

"Did you have fun?" she croaked out and he nodded, throwing his coat at a servant.

"It was good," he said. "I have discussed some business strategies that could come in handy once we are back in Gillikin – not that that is of any concern to you. What have you been doing?"

"Sleeping," she lied. "Reading a bit."

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe it's those books that are making you ill," he said, before laughing loudly at his own joke. He disappeared into the bedroom and appeared again about twenty minutes later, dressed in a fresh suit.

"I'm going out again," he said. "I have agreed to meet with your father, to discuss some things regarding the wedding. I will be back in time for dinner and then I want you to be ready as well."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "Lunch with your family is one thing, Elphaba. Dinner with the entire crème de la crème of Ozian society is quite another. I will not be the subject of rumours tonight – I don't care how you feel. Just put on some make-up and a pretty dress, smile, and pretend to be feeling well and happy tonight."

With that, he left again, leaving her alone once more.

It took her a while, but eventually she dragged herself off the couch and listlessly started searching for clothes to put on. She dressed in a dark purple gown, twisted her hair in a bun, which she secured with the expensive hair clasp Avaric had given her, and tried her best to make herself look presentable; but she knew she looked miserable even before Avaric returned and bluntly told her that she was still nothing to look at.

He forced her out of the door nonetheless and took her to the dining hall, where she spent the next two hours poking at her food and listening to other people's conversations without _really _listening to them. Galinda tried to talk to her a few times, but Elphaba just didn't feel like talking. She felt angry and sad and used and _trapped_, and she wanted nothing more than to get out of here, leap off the back of this ship, swim back to the nearest shore, and run away as far as she could.

Her spirits were lifted a little at Galinda and Nessa's attempts to cheer her up after dinner – it probably helped, too, that Avaric had retreated to the card table once more, leaving her alone – and she tried to smile and go along with them, but her heart still wasn't in it. When Galinda elbowed her in the side and she looked up, though, her breath caught in her throat.

Fiyero.

He was standing near the staircase, talking to a few other men. When he turned a little and scanned the room, his eyes met hers and he grinned at her.

She grinned back.

Galinda, beside her, sighed. "Oh, this is so romantic."

Nessarose looked confused. "Romantic? What is romantic?" she asked curiously and Elphaba kicked her blonde friend under the table.

Galinda realised her mistake and quickly smiled at Nessa. "I was just looking at that couple dancing over there." She pointed at a random couple. "They are just… so cute together."

Nessa laughed and launched into a conversation about cute couples. Elphaba excused herself and slowly meandered over to where Fiyero was standing, trying to make it look like she was running into him by accident instead of purposefully.

"Hey," she said when she reached him.

He smiled. "Hey." Without asking her, he took her hand, kissed it, and then led her over to the dance floor, pulling her into his arms.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight," he said after a while. "As always."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't have to lie to me, Yero."

He looked genuinely shocked. "What? Why would you think I was lying?" he demanded, spinning her around.

"I know I look like I've been run over by a carriage," she said. "And besides – green, remember?" She gestured at her skin, and Fiyero scowled.

"Your skin is beautiful," he said firmly.

She rolled her eyes again. "Whatever you want, Fiyero."

"I'm serious," he insisted. He led her through some complicated steps before pulling her back in his arms again. "I like this colour on you. Purple suits you."

She made a face. "If it were up to me, I'd wear black every day," she sighed, "but Father won't let me, and neither will Avaric. They got me a whole wardrobe of coloured dresses."

He smiled. "I like colours on you."

They danced in silence for a while. He was looking at her face; but she was looking over his shoulder, clearly lost in thought.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she said softly after a while. "You shouldn't have come here."

"I just came for some fun," he said innocently. "You're the one that came over to me."

She glared at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you denying it?"

She grumbled something under her breath, looking away, and he laughed.

"I'm serious, though," she said after a while. "You should go."

He sighed, deflating a little. "Fae… I understand that we can't be together, or anything like that. I do. And I respect that. But does that really mean we can't even _see _one another again?"

She bit her lip. "Not really, I suppose…"

He grinned at her. "Great, then. That's settled." He twirled her around again. She stumbled over her own feet and fell back against his chest rather ungracefully.

"Sorry," she muttered, her cheeks flushing; but when she looked up at him, realised how close they were and recognising the dark look in his eyes, she held her breath. He leant down just the tiniest bit and she found herself leaning up…

And then she jerked away, so forcefully he almost lost his balance. She hugged herself and he looked at her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."

She shook her head wordlessly.

He reached out to her. "Elphaba?"

She shied away, still shaking her head. "This is why, Fiyero," she said, not meeting his eyes. "This is why it would be better if we didn't see one another at all anymore."

With that, she went back to sit with her friends, leaving Fiyero standing all alone in the middle of the dance floor.

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><p>He tried to get her to talk to him again for the rest of the evening, but she refused to speak with him alone, instead trying to wave him off with curt, polite replies. He could tell that Galinda was suspicious and Nessarose merely looked confused, but neither of them asked anything. They just watched in interest as he tried to talk to Elphaba and she kept on dismissing him, until she eventually excused herself and walked up to Avaric. A few minutes later, the two of them left together.<p>

Fiyero sighed and sank down into a chair, suddenly not feeling like staying here any longer. He knew she was right. He knew that. It just hurt.

He stayed there until most of the other people had left, just staring ahead of him, lost in thought. He realised wryly that he had probably never in his life thought so much about things as he had in the past week or so. His parents would be proud of him, at least.

He looked up when a person slid into the chair beside him. "Fiyero?"

It was Galinda. He forced himself to smile. "Hi."

She smiled back, sympathetically. "She broke things off with you, didn't she?"

He looked at her in surprise and she chuckled. "I'm a girl, Fiyero, and Elphie's friend besides. I guessed what was going on. I caught her sneaking out of her room this afternoon." She sighed. "I wish there could be a way for you two to be together, but since there doesn't seem to be one… I don't know, Fiyero. I know it must hurt, but I really do think this is for the best."

"It is for the best," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Galinda placed a hand on his arm. "You'll be alright, though," she said. "You both will be. And for what it's worth – I'll keep an eye on her, once we're in Gillikin. I don't live far from the Tenmeadows estate and I intend to stay in touch with Elphie after we go ashore. I promise I will look out for her."

Fiyero flashed her a weak smile. "Thanks, Galinda."

She returned his smile. "You're welcome."

It was sweet of her, and he really did appreciate it… but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

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><p><strong>Next chapter is a heavy one. Like, not <em>the <em>heavy one... but a heavy one nonetheless. Possibly even a bit triggering.**


	10. Of Actions and Consequences

**AN: Like I said, the second part of this chapter can be kind of triggering... this kind of feels like _Wonderwomen _all over again, but if mentions of (almost-)rape bother you, then be warned. Nothing too explicit, though.**

**PhantomoftheBarricade1832: Yes. Yes, I do enjoy filling your lives with endless Fiyeraba feels; and yes, doing so makes me very happy :P. (Your review left me in stitches, by the way.)**

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><p><strong>10. Of Actions and Consequences<strong>

It was a few days later that Fiyero and Boq, whom he had dressed up in one of his own suits and dragged up to the first-class deck for a peek at his precious Miss Galinda, ran into said precious Miss Galinda in the hallway.

Boq's eyes immediately widened and he flushed as bright red as a tomato. Galinda just smiled at him and let him kiss her hand at Fiyero's introductions.

"It's very nice to meet you, Master Boq," she said.

"Where is Elphaba?" Fiyero asked and Galinda gave him a sideway glance.

"Fiyero…"

"What? I can't even ask where she is now anymore?" he asked irritably and Galinda sighed.

"She's in her rooms," she said. "She's ill – for real this time. Nothing bad, don't worry. She only has a mild fever and a headache. But her father refuses to come or to let Nessa near her for fear of her infecting them, and Avaric left for the day, saying he didn't feel like taking care of her and he'd leave that to the servants…"

"What about you?" Fiyero demanded. "Can't you take care of her?"

She looked at him patiently. "I would, Fiyero," she said. "Of course I would. I tried to, too, but she sent me away, claiming she was fine and could take care of herself. I had agreed to spend some time with Momsie and Popsicle this afternoon and she all but chased me out of her room, telling me to go or she'd get out of bed and kick me out of the room herself, so I left."

Fiyero looked glum. "She's too stubborn for her own good."

Galinda shrugged lightly. "I know, but there's nothing to be done about it. She'll be fine, don't worry."

"M-Miss Galinda?" Boq asked shyly, at which she turned to him and gave him a beaming smile.

"Yes, Biq?"

He frowned slightly. "It's Boq."

She giggled. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm horrible with names," she apologised and he instantly melted again.

"That's alright, Miss Galinda." He took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say that… you look very beautiful."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" she gushed and as she lapsed into a rant about her daily beauty routine, Fiyero sneaked off without either of his friends noticing, slipping into a hallway and to Elphaba's rooms without anyone seeing him.

She was lying in bed, asleep. Her face was pale, but her cheeks were flushed; and some sweat was beading on her brow. He tiptoed into the darkened room to look at her for a moment before going to the bathroom in search for a glass of water and some aspirin for when she woke up.

He dipped a piece of cloth in cold water and laid it across her forehead, smoothing his hands over her hair as he did so. She muttered something in her sleep and he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Her eyes slowly opened. "Fiyero?" she slurred. She blinked a few times and then frowned at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran into Galinda," he said, helping her as she tried to sit up. "She told me you were ill."

Her frown did not disappear. "I told her I was fine."

"Well, you're clearly not." He gave her the water and aspirin, which she took without protest. He stroked her hair. "Just go to sleep, Fae. I'll stay with you in case you need anything."

"You don't have to," she said, but her eyelids were already drooping again.

He squeezed her hand. "I want to."

He stayed with her the rest of the afternoon, reading as she slept. By the end of the afternoon she was feeling much better already – her cheeks were less red and her eyes had lost the feverish spark they'd had before. He gave her more aspirin and asked a servant to bring some tea and something to eat, which he brought in ten minutes later. He insisted on feeding Elphaba pieces of fruit and coaxed some tea into her as well.

"You don't have to treat me like a baby," she protested weakly, but he wouldn't hear any of it.

She leant against him tiredly. "Thanks, though," she whispered. "For staying here… and for taking care of me. I mean, you didn't have to, but… thank you."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You're welcome."

He looked down at her. Their eyes met, and he decided that he didn't care about the consequences – whatever they were, it was worth it if it meant he got to kiss her one more time.

Which he then did.

She tried to push him away at first, but then she melted into the kiss, her hand gliding around his neck and into his hair. He deepened the kiss, eliciting a soft sigh from her. They kissed for a long time, neither of them thinking about anything.

Not until the door suddenly flew open and Avaric came in.

They sprang apart instantly, eyes wide. Avaric's eyes, on the other hand, instantly narrowed.

"I _knew _it!" he shouted, storming forward. He grabbed Fiyero's arm roughly and dragged him away from Elphaba. "What do you think you're doing, you filthy Winkie?! Keep your hands _off _my fiancée, do you hear?"

Fiyero resisted, trying to get to Elphaba, his heart pounding in his throat. He didn't know what Avaric would do to her once he'd get Fiyero out of the room, but he knew it would be bad. He had to protect her from that.

She got out of the bed and gripped Avaric's arm, tugging at it. "Let him go, Avaric, please," she pleaded. "It was my fault, not his."

He growled and shoved her away, causing her to fall to the floor. When Fiyero tried to get to her again, Avaric punched him hard in the face.

"Stay _away _from Elphaba," he snapped, pushing Fiyero against a wall. He yanked open the door and pushed the Vinkun prince through it. "I will not let you see her ever again!"

Fiyero tried to get back in, but that only earned him another punch, in the jaw this time, before the door was slammed shut and locked right in front of him.

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><p>Elphaba recoiled when Avaric rounded on her. His eyes were ablaze with a fire ten times more vicious than she had ever seen in him.<p>

"Avaric –" she began, but she cut herself off with a cry of pain when he grabbed her hair and yanked her to her feet. He picked her up and threw her onto the bed, shrugging off his own jacket and kicking off his shoes as he crawled over her.

Her stomach twisted when she realised what he was about to do and she felt bile rising in her throat. "Avaric…"

"I'll teach you to whom you belong," he grunted, pinning both her arms down to the bed above her head with one hand. He used his other hand to start tugging at his trousers. "You're mine, Elphaba. It's time you start seeing that."

"No!" She struggled weakly, but she had no defence against him. He was heavier than she was and far more muscular. He held her down easily as he pulled her nightgown up to her stomach.

"Avaric, stop!" She writhed underneath him, trying to kick him, bite him, anything; but he was stronger and he just pinned her down with his entire body, his breath hot on her face.

"You brought this on yourself," he hissed at her. "You're my fiancée. I knew I couldn't trust you the moment I saw you with that Winkie prince. How far did you two go?"

She turned her head away, disgusted. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"_How far_?!"

When she still didn't reply, he demanded, "Did you two do it? _Answer me_, Elphaba!"

Only when he threatened to strike her across the face did she reply, softly. "No."

He grinned maliciously. "That's what I thought." He pulled his own trousers down, his hand travelling up her leg and underneath her nightgown, just grazing the edge of her underwear. "So now," he said almost casually, "I'm going to claim you. Before he does."

"Avaric –"

"I'll do this on our wedding night, anyway," he spat at her. "Maybe if I do it now, it will keep you from doing it with another man – _especially _that Winkie prince." He pinned her tighter to the bed. "Now lie still."

"I'll scream," she threatened, but her voice was shaking and her heart was hammering in her chest. Was this really happening? She couldn't let him do this. She couldn't… but he was too strong for her.

"I doubt that," he said before covering her mouth with his own. When she felt his tongue trying to make its way into her mouth, she bit down hard.

"_Ah_!" he screamed, pulling back. Blood trickled down his chin. "You little witch!"

"Let me go!"

"Never!" He pressed his hand down over her mouth, keeping her legs down with his knees and her arms pinned above her head with his other hand. She was still struggling against him, fear and panic rising in her chest.

"I will break you in the end, Elphaba," he growled, an almost animalistic sound. His eyes were burning with anger, greed, and lust. "You are mine and mine alone, and I can do with you whatever I want."

His hand reached for her underwear again, renewing her fear. As a rush of panic surged through her, she could feel the magic bursting from her body.

It threw Avaric off her and slammed him with his back against the opposite wall.

He gasped, trying to regain his composure, as she rose from the bed and just stood there, giving herself a moment to catch her breath before looking down at him with contempt in her eyes.

"I will _never _be yours," she said, her voice calm even though it was trembling, "and I'm not going to marry you. I'd rather jump off this ship right now than _ever _become your wife."

With that she ran from the room.

She didn't care about the fact that everyone could see her in her nightgown. She didn't care about anything right now. To hell with her social status, to hell with her father and to _hell _with Avaric. She should have done this ages ago. She was done being their little marionette, allowing them to dress her up and pull her strings, dictating her every move. She wasn't going to go back. Ever.

She ran down the stairs to the second-class deck and into a hallway in search of Fiyero.

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><p><strong>Favourite lines? I have an exam this afternoon, so it would be nice to come home to some reviews... *hint, hint* :P<strong>


	11. In Your Arms

**AN: No, Avaric is still not going to die in this chapter, but we're getting closer now... and I'm sure you guys will like this chapter anyhow.**

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><p><strong>11. In Your Arms<strong>

When the door to his cabin opened, the last person he had expected to see was Elphaba.

"Fae!" he exclaimed, instantly rising to his feet. When he saw the look in her eyes, he opened his arms and she threw herself into them, suddenly bursting into tears and sobbing into his shoulder.

"Fae," he whispered, holding her close and stroking her long, raven hair. "What did he do?"

She shook her head, unable to say anything. He led her back to his bed and sat down with her still wrapped in his arms. She was shaking all over; but when he looked into her eyes, he also saw something that hadn't been there before.

She was a fighter, he realised. No matter what happened to her, she always got back to her feet again. Her father and Avaric had been stupid in thinking they could contain her. She was like fire – beautiful, untameable, and untouchable; and the more her father and Avaric tried to oppress her, the brighter she burnt.

"What did he do, sweetheart?" he asked her softly when she had calmed down a little, and she sniffled and wiped her face with the sleeve of her nightgown.

"He… he tried to rape me," she said, her voice almost inaudible.

Fiyero sucked in his breath.

"He didn't succeed," she said quickly. "I… I panicked, and…" She lowered her eyes. "My magic got out of control. It threw him back against the wall, and then I told him I'd never marry him and I ran off." She seemed apprehensive, but he was just completely dumbstruck. Magic? On top of everything else, she had magic, too?

"I've had it my entire life," she said before he could ask the question on his lips. "I was born with it, I guess, just like my skin. It… it gets out of control sometimes… when I get really scared, or angry, or upset. I wanted to go to Shiz and study Sorcery there, to try and learn to control it, but my father and Avaric wanted me to hide it."

She finally raised her gaze to meet his and by the look in her eyes, he guessed she was expecting him to react badly to this. With disgust, maybe, like Avaric had probably done… or with fear.

That wasn't at all what he felt at her revelation, though. He was just completely awestruck.

"Oz, Fae…" he breathed, pulling her closer and kissing her deeply. When he pulled away, he whispered against her lips, "Every time I think you could not possibly be more incredible, you do or say something to prove me wrong."

She was blushing. "I'm not incredible."

"You are." He kissed her again. "Elphaba… I love you."

She stiffened in his arms, clearly dumbstruck by his words. He rested his forehead against hers and looked deep into her beautiful, chocolate-coloured eyes.

"I love you," he said again. "And I'm not going to let you go back to Avaric ever again. You're coming with me. Okay? I'll write to my parents, they'll help you – us. They'll help us. I know they will."

He expected her to protest, but instead she just buried her face in his shirt and nodded against his shoulder.

"Okay."

He stroked her hair again and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

Her shaking had mostly subsided and she seemed to be doing better now, both emotionally and physically. She sat up again and looked at him, biting her lip when she saw the bruises Avaric had left on his face. She gently traced first the one on his jaw, then the one around his left eye.

"This needs a cold compress," she said softly, "or it's going to swell even worse than it has now."

He nodded and held up a wet piece of cloth, which he had been holding to his bruises before she'd come in. "I'm ahead of you."

She smiled softly and took the cloth from him, gingerly placing it against his eye. He hissed softly in pain and she whispered an apology, which he dismissed.

"Hold that," she said and then rose to her feet to get another piece of cloth from his bathroom, which she pressed to his jaw.

She ran her fingers through his hair as she held the compress in place, eyes fixed on his jaw rather than his own eyes. He reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear and she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and removing the cloth slightly, grimacing sympathetically when she saw the bruise underneath.

"You're going to have a swollen jaw," she said. "And probably a black eye, too. He must have hit you pretty hard."

"It's fine," Fiyero said. "It doesn't matter." He grinned at her. "I hope you hit _him _hard, too, though."

She returned the grin a bit shyly. "I think I did." She tilted her head a little to the side. Her ebony hair fell over her shoulder and down her arm, brushing the crook of her elbow. "I mean, he didn't get up right away… and the sound of impact was… um… impressive."

He laughed. "Good."

She removed the compresses after a while and when he told her there should be some cream in the bathroom that could help with the bruises, she stood up to get it. He realised she was still in her nightgown. He'd have to try and find something more suitable for her to wear… and he'd have to keep her hidden from her father and Avaric.

But he'd succeed. Together, they'd find a way. He meant what he had said before – he was _not _going to let her go back. Over his dead body.

She returned with the cream and he watched her face intently as she applied the cream to his bruises. Her touch was feather-light and gentle and he couldn't help the way his eyes fluttered shut at the feeling.

"Yero?" she whispered, causing him to open his eyes again.

His voice was a bit thicker than usual when he replied. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath and met his gaze. "I… I think I love you, too."

He cradled her face between his hands and kissed her, again and again and again, until they were both breathless. He kissed her in every way he knew how – light, soft, firm, gentle, deep, passionate, sweet kisses, for what could have been hours or minutes, he wasn't sure. He eventually pulled away from her.

"I'll go and see if I can find you something to wear," he said softly, running his fingers over her hair. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said, watching him from the bed as he got up and left the room.

He talked to a few of the other passengers, explaining to them that he had a friend in trouble and asking them if they could maybe spare him some women's clothes. He eventually returned with two dresses and an underskirt. There was no corset, but somehow he didn't think Elphaba would mind that very much.

He also got something to eat before he walked back into the room – which was, obviously, considerably smaller than Elphaba's rooms on the first-class level had been. She had a bedroom, a bathroom, and a sitting room, all very spacious and richly furnished. All he had here was one small bedroom with nothing more than the necessities – a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a nightstand – with an even smaller adjoining bathroom.

He looked around, searching for Elphaba. He found her on the bed, curled up in the most adorable position with her head against a pile of pillows and her arms around said pillows, hugging them. Her knees were drawn to her chest and she was asleep, a peaceful look on her face.

He smiled softly and draped the clothes over the desk chair, leaving the food on the desk itself, before climbing onto the bed beside Elphaba. He reached out to stroke her hair. "Fae?"

Her eyelids fluttered. "Mmh?"

"I brought some clothes for you," he said. "And food."

She yawned and stretched on his bed and he suddenly had to repress the urge to ravish her right there and then. He restrained himself, though.

When she opened her eyes and saw the look on his face, however, she chuckled a bit nervously. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He tried not to stare at her long, slender legs peeking out from underneath her nightgown; but raising his gaze turned out not to be such a good idea, either, because then he found himself face to face with a bare strip of skin just above the neckline of her nightgown. He blinked and looked at her face. She was watching him curiously and soon he found himself staring at her eyes instead. They were such a beautiful colour. The colour of chocolate, of freshly turned earth… with tiny specks of gold in them.

"Fiyero?" she asked and the sound of her voice snapped him out of it. Oz, he was such an idiot.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking away and rubbing his neck awkwardly.

She tilted her head a little to the side inquiringly and his attention was immediately drawn to her exposed neck. He mentally kicked himself. Why did he have to be such a guy?

"I just…" He swallowed. "Um…"

She yawned again, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth. "Sorry."

"That's okay." Actually, he was thankful for the distraction. He stood and moved over to the desk to get the food. "I guess you're still not feeling very well, are you? Are you even hungry?"

"A little," she admitted. "And don't worry – I'm okay."

When he shot her a sceptical look, she said, "My fever is down. I just have a slight headache, that's all."

He nodded and went to sit back on the bed with her, handing her some of the food. "Here you go."

She accepted it gratefully and ate with small bites, seemingly lost in thought. She did still look tired and a bit pale, but there was something about her that he hadn't seen any of the other times he had looked at her. Something free.

When she caught him looking at her again, he quickly looked down at his food, embarrassed; but she just dropped her head to rest against his shoulder and he tentatively put his arm around her. Even when she had finished eating, she did not move, and neither did he.

"Fae?" he whispered after a while.

She didn't reply and he pulled away a little to look at her face, only to find that she had drifted off to sleep against him. He smiled and gently moved her to lie down in the bed, tucking her in with the blanket and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered.

He made a bed for himself on the floor, lying down and staring at the ceiling for a while before sleep claimed him.

He felt like he had only slept for mere minutes, however, when he awoke because of a loud knocking on the door.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. "What…"

Elphaba was sitting up, too, her eyes wide and terrified as she clutched the blanket to her chest.

"Avaric," she whispered.

"You don't know that," Fiyero tried to reassure her; but just then, the knocking came again.

"Open up!" a male voice shouted. "I know you have Elphaba in there!"

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><p><strong>Dun dun duuuuuun. What? I'm still the Queen of Cliffies. Reputation, blah blah, you know me. Cliffies are cool.<strong>


	12. When Tragedy Strikes

**AN: I'm kind of surprised at how many of you guessed what's going on - but then again, some of you probably know how my mind works by now :3.**

**Something else: the Greg Awards have been up again for a few weeks already, so don't forget to go there and nominate your favourites! (Nominations close and voting starts on 1 December.) Nellytheactress is hosting this year :).**

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><p><strong>12. When Tragedy Strikes<strong>

Fiyero blinked when he realised he knew that voice – and not because it belonged to Avaric. "Boq?"

"Open _up_, Fiyero," the Munchkin grumbled from the other side of the door. "It's freezing out here. Miss Galinda is getting cold."

"Miss… what?" Fiyero got up and opened the door only slightly, peering at the two people standing outside of it. Galinda was hugging herself, clearly cold. Boq was scowling at the prince.

"You don't keep a lady waiting like that," he admonished Fiyero.

Fiyero scowled right back at him. "You show up here in the middle of the night, pounding on my door and shouting," he pointed out irritably. "You scared the wits out of us. We thought you were Avaric!"

"Oh." Boq had the decency to look sheepish. "I hadn't thought of that."

"She's here, then?" Galinda asked, and Fiyero nodded.

"She is."

"Can I see her?"

He hesitated and cast a glance at the green girl over his shoulder, but then he opened the door wider. Galinda immediately rushed in and threw her arms around her friend. "Elphie!"

"It's not the middle of the night, by the way," Boq told Fiyero as the latter closed the door again. "It's only nine o'clock. Elphaba wasn't at dinner. Avaric was, but he looked shaken and he couldn't walk properly. When Galinda asked him what happened and where Elphaba was, he freaked out completely. She thought Elphaba might have come here, so she went down to the second-class deck, only she didn't know which room you were staying in. I ran into her and decided to help her."

Fiyero arched one eyebrow. "Her saviour in distress, right?"

Boq flushed. "Shut up."

Galinda, meanwhile, was hugging Elphaba tightly on the bed. "Oh, Elphie," she blubbered, "I was so _worried _about you! What happened?"

Elphaba told her everything and Galinda fell silent, horror written all over her face.

"You're not going back to him, are you?" the blonde asked quietly.

Elphaba shook her head, holding the blankets to her chest. She sighed. "I'm not going back, no matter what. I just…"

"She's staying with me," Fiyero said as he sat down on the chair by his desk. Boq raised an eyebrow at him, Galinda looked at him in surprise, and Elphaba just stared at him.

"What?" he asked. "You are, aren't you?" When she didn't reply, he started to panic a little. "Fae?"

"Fiyero…" she began slowly. "I know I said before that I would, but really, I couldn't impose on you like that –"

"Nonsense," he said curtly. "You're not imposing and you know that. You can't go back, Fae. I'm not letting you. Where else did you want to go?"

She deflated, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know. But, Yero, your parents –"

"My parents will be okay with it. They'll have to be. I'm not giving them a choice."

"I don't want you to –"

"Would you stop already?" Fiyero demanded in exasperation and Galinda placed a hand on her friend's arm.

"He does have a point, Elphie," she said softly. "Just stay with him and let him take care of you. Please? I don't want to see you ending up back with Avaric, and you can't stay on your own. You have nothing. No money, no food, no clothes – nothing. I'd ask you to stay with me, but the risk of Avaric finding you would be too big…"

"Fae, please?" Fiyero asked softly, sitting down next to her. She looked into his pleading blue eyes and she caved.

"Okay," she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly before pulling back and pressing his lips to hers.

"I love you," he told her when he pulled away. "Now go to sleep, sweetheart – you look tired. Don't worry," he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Everything is going to be alright."

She heaved a sigh and he gently urged her to lie back down on the bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead before turning to face Boq and Galinda. They got the hint and backed off towards the door.

"Take good care of her," Galinda whispered and he gave her a tired smile.

"I will."

Galinda had promised him before that she'd look out for Elphaba and he felt like that was something that bound them together. It was nice to know that he was not the only one who cared. When it came to protecting Elphaba, it felt like he and Galinda had one another's back somehow.

Boq and Galinda left, and Fiyero paced the room for a while, too restless to go to sleep. Elphaba sometimes moved or murmured something in her sleep, but she never woke up. He spend the good part of an hour watching her before deciding to crawl back into his own improvised bed on the floor to try and get some sleep himself.

He hadn't even fallen asleep yet, though, when a strange, scraping sound, accompanied by a shuddering feeling, caused him to sit straight up again. The noise was horrible and he clamped his hands over his ears, watching in horror as the room shook around him. What in Oz was going on?

"Fiyero?" came Elphaba's sleepy voice from the bed. "What is that?"

He shook his head, even though she couldn't see him in the dark. "I have no idea."

She lit a candle and he looked at her. Her eyes were wide and frightened and she was clutching the blanket to her chest.

"Something's wrong," she whispered. "I can feel it."

He didn't question her. She was the one with the magical powers, not he; and aside from that, he had a feeling that something was wrong, too. He just didn't know what.

"I'm going to check," he said, throwing the blankets back and rising to his feet. Elphaba made to protest, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"I'll be right back," he said. "Stay here."

With that, he slipped out of the room.

Many people had left their rooms, gathering in the hallways to discuss what was going on, but no-one seemed to know exactly what had happened.

Fiyero grabbed a staff member's shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, sir," the man said nervously. "I don't know. I'm sure it's nothing, don't you worry." With that, he hurried away, but Fiyero wasn't reassured at all.

He couldn't find anyone else who was willing – or able – to give him an answer, however, and so he just returned to his room, where he found Elphaba anxiously awaiting his return. When he told her that he had no idea what was going on, she looked at him.

"Whatever it is," she whispered ominously, "it's not good. It's bad, Fiyero. It's really bad."

"It will be okay," he tried to calm her down, wrapping her in his arms and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

She didn't tell him that he probably couldn't. He couldn't protect her from everything and they both knew that; but it was still nice to hear him say it, and so she didn't protest. She just burrowed into his arms and let him hold her.

They sat like that for a while, neither of them knowing exactly for how long, before Fiyero finally pulled away.

"What do you think we should do?" he asked.

She thought about that. She wasn't sure what was going on and what to do about it, either… maybe the first step was to try and find out. "I think we should go back out," she said eventually. "To see if we can find out more about what's going on. _Someone _has to know."

Fiyero nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll go."

"I'm coming with you," she said, but he shook his head.

"It's too dangerous," he said gently. He ran his hand over her hair and cupped her cheek. "I don't want to risk anyone recognising you. Avaric is still looking for you, you know."

She bit her lip. "But…"

"I'll be fine," he promised, kissing her softly. "Just try to get some more sleep, okay, sweetheart? I'll be back before you know it."

He rose and left again, leaving her alone in his room with an increasingly nauseating feeling in her stomach.

* * *

><p>The ship was sinking.<p>

Fiyero hadn't believed it when the staff member had told him. The man had been reluctant to say anything at first, but Fiyero had pinned him to a wall, told him that he was the crown prince of the Vinkus, and demanded answers. The staff member had then reluctantly admitted that he had been instructed to hand out life-jackets and that he had overheard one of his supervisors saying that the ship was sinking.

"But don't worry, Your Highness," he had added quickly, "I highly doubt it to be true. I must have misheard, really. The ship is unsinkable, after all."

Nothing was unsinkable, and they both knew that. Fiyero had thanked the man and let him go, standing in the hallway for a while as he let the news sink in. He couldn't be sure, of course, but he guessed the man's supervisor knew what he was talking about. What if the ship really was sinking?

He went back to his room, intending to tell Elphaba what he had heard and to take her with him in search of more information. Whatever it was that was going on, he didn't trust it; and despite the risk of someone seeing her and notifying Avaric, he didn't want her to be alone right now. It could be dangerous.

When he arrived in the hallway where his room was, however, he frowned. Was he imagining things, or was the door to his room open?

"Fae?" he called as he approached the door. When he found that it was, indeed, ajar, he quickly pushed it open entirely. His voice rose in pitch and volume. "Elphaba?"

She wasn't there. He searched the bed, looked around the room wildly and even checked the bathroom, but she wasn't there.

Elphaba was gone.

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><p><strong>I mean, come on - that had to happen at some point. And it made a good cliffy, which is always good :D.<strong>


	13. To Save a Green Girl

**AN: Sorry for the late update! I've had a very busy couple of days and I kind of lost track of time.**

**Cassidy, that's okay ;) and, well... who knows? Maybe you'll get your happiness... (Then again - maybe not, heheh.)**

**I finished writing this story a few days ago and it will be 18 chapters in total, so you still have a few to go!**

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><p><strong>13. To Save a Green Girl<strong>

"Let me go!" She struggled, but Avaric just kept dragging her through the hallways until they reached their rooms on the first-class level. He threw her onto the couch and closed the door behind them before turning around, looking at her with barely concealed rage in his eyes.

"How dare you," he said, his voice dangerously low. "How dare you use that sinful magic on me. How dare you tell me that you won't marry me. How _dare _you," he spat, slowly approaching her as she inched away from him, "insult me, hurt me, disgrace me; and then run off to that Oz-forsaken _Winkie prince_!"

"He is a better man than you could ever dream of being," she shot back at him. "I love him."

Avaric grabbed her arm again and dragged her to her feet. He pushed her in the direction of the bedroom and for a moment she was afraid that he was going to try doing the same thing to her he had tried to do to her before; but he just forced her inside and then slammed the door shut behind her, effectively locking her up.

She pounded on the door with her fists. "Avaric!" she yelled. "Let me out!"

He didn't even respond.

She sighed and leant against the door, looking around the room. Perhaps she could use this opportunity to take some things of value with her, just in case.

She opened the wardrobe and changed out of her nightgown, instead wearing the dark red dress Fiyero had first seen her in and loved so much. There was only a handful of things of value to her that she had left behind when she fled the room the day before. Her mother's green glass bottle was one of them and she stuffed it into the bodice of her dress. She also took a bracelet Nessarose had given her once – the only thing she had ever gotten from her sister – and fastened it around her wrist. Those were, really, the only things of sentimental value to her.

She hesitated when she laid eyes on the emerald-inlaid hair clasp Avaric had bought her, but she eventually secured her hair in a ponytail with it, figuring that if nothing else, it would be worth a lot of money. Fiyero had seemed certain his parents would support him in helping her, but she couldn't be sure. At least this way, she'd have some leverage; she could sell the hair clasp and use the money to take care of herself, if need be.

When she was done, she took a deep breath and moved back to the door. She knocked on it. "Avaric?"

No reply. She pounded harder. "Avaric, let me out."

He didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure he was still in the room – perhaps he had left to spend the rest of his evening in the common room, drinking and playing cards and smoking cigars.

Then, however, she heard another pounding sound – one she hadn't caused herself. Not this time. It sounded like it came from the other side of the room.

"Avaric!" a voice yelled – a voice she knew only too well. "I know you have her in there! Let her go!"

"Fiyero!" she shouted. "I'm in here!"

A loud bang made her jump away from the door. "Silence, you witch!" Avaric screamed.

She tried to listen. She could hear the other door being opened and Fiyero and Avaric talked heatedly, but she couldn't hear what exactly they were saying. She tried the doorknob and pushed against the door uselessly, but it wouldn't budge. She even tried conjuring up her powers, but she didn't know how.

"Fiyero!" she yelled again, her heart pounding in her chest. What if Avaric hurt him? She knew Fiyero could stand his ground, but Avaric was taller and more muscular than the Vinkun prince.

She heard a dull _thud _and then nothing. She held her breath, straining to hear something, anything; but it stayed completely silent in the other room.

"Fiyero?" she whispered.

Then the door opened to reveal him and she launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly before letting go of him to look him up and down. "Are you alright?" she asked him almost frantically. "Did he hurt you?" Then she glanced over his shoulder and saw Avaric lying unconscious on the floor. Her eyes widened. "Did you do that?"

Fiyero grinned tiredly. "I have my skills with a candleholder." He pointed at the item in question and she laughed and kissed him deeply.

"Are _you_ okay?" he asked when she pulled away and she nodded.

"He didn't even touch me," she said. "He just locked me in there." She looked up at him with anxious, dark eyes. "What is going on, Yero?"

"I'm not sure," he said, immediately growing serious himself, "but a man I talked to said that the ship is sinking."

She sucked in her breath, eyes wide.

He squeezed her hand. "We'll be okay, though." He kissed her forehead, holding her close. "I'll make sure you will be okay."

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><p>They encountered Boq and Galinda on their way out. They were both very concerned when they heard about Avaric; but that concern was nothing compared to the worry they felt when Fiyero told them what he had heard. By the time they reached the lower decks, people from the third class were already rushing up, claiming the entire third-class floor was slowly filling with sea water. Ship staff members were instructing the guests to put on life-jackets, which they all did, and to proceed to the decks, where the lifeboats were.<p>

"There aren't even enough boats," Boq said, looking anxious. "There are only enough boats for half the passengers on this ship."

"And the water is freezing," Elphaba added.

"We've got to get to the lifeboats, then," Galinda said in a high voice. Her blue eyes were wide and she was clearly scared. "Before they're all full and we'll drown or freeze to death!"

Fiyero nodded curtly. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Elphaba cried. She looked at the others. "I've got to warn Nessa!"

"Elphie –" Galinda began, but the green girl shook her head.

"You go on to the lifeboats," she said. "I'll catch up with you." Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off.

Fiyero cursed under his breath and ran after her. "Go!" he yelled at a baffled Boq over his shoulder. "Take Galinda to a boat and keep her safe! We'll be right behind you!"

He followed Elphaba up to the first-class deck, where she stormed into a room. "Nessa!"

The girl was sitting in her chair, having tea with the governor. They both looked startled when the pair came in.

Frexspar's eyes narrowed when he saw Fiyero. "You," he hissed at him. He glanced at Elphaba. "Avaric told me what happened. How you _disgraced _us. Elphaba, how dare you –"

"There's no time!" she interrupted him. She looked at her father pleadingly. "Father, Nessa… the ship is sinking. The lower levels are already filling with water. You have to go up to the lifeboat deck, before it's too late!"

"What?" Nessa asked, staring at her sister. Frex just snorted.

"Elphaba, I don't have time for this," he said gruffly. "It's an unsinkable ship. You're just trying to distract me from the fact that you left Avaric for _him_!"

"Do you really think I would have come back here if it weren't for something important?" she shot back. "I wouldn't take the risk of you taking me back to Avaric if I didn't have a good reason, Father! You have to listen to me!"

"No." Frex rose to his feet. "You're talking nonsense. Nessarose, go to your room," he ordered the younger girl. "I have to deal with your sister and her _prince_."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Elphaba shouted, nearly desperate now. She brought her hands down with a wild gesture. "Just _listen_!"

The teacups, the vases, and the mirror on the wall suddenly all shattered. Nessa shrieked and protected her face with her hands from the flying porcelain.

Elphaba was breathing hard, horrified at the way she had lost control. Nessarose peeked at her sister cautiously from between her fingers and Frex was staring at the mirror on the wall – or what was left of it – in shock.

Fiyero was completely in awe of what had just happened – this was the first time he had seen Elphaba's magical powers in action – but he tried not to be too enthusiastic, realising there were more important matters at hand. He stepped forward to place his hand on the small of Elphaba's back and she turned to face him, her eyes even bigger than usual.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to… I just lost control. I'm sorry."

"Hey!" Fiyero cupped her face to look into her eyes. "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay." He kissed her forehead. After he pulled away, she slipped her fingers into his and he squeezed her hand gently, keeping it in his own as they both looked at the governor and his youngest daughter.

"Elphaba," Frex said in a low voice.

"Father," Nessarose interjected quietly. "Fabala only loses control of her magic when something is very important to her. Surely you must know that. After Mother died, or to protect me from the children who were teasing me… sometimes to protect herself. Don't you see? If she's losing control of her powers over this, I think she must be telling the truth."

Frexspar stared at his youngest daughter for a long time.

Then he raised his gaze, colder than Elphaba had ever seen it, to meet her chocolate brown eyes.

"Get out," he said flatly.

She immediately started to protest. "Father, _please _–"

"Get out!" he yelled, drops of saliva flying off his lips. His eyes were almost wild. "You are a disgrace! Get out before you infect Nessarose with your stupid ideas and your sinful magic! _Get out_!"

When she didn't move, he grabbed her arms and forced her out of the door himself, closing and locking it behind her and Fiyero. She pounded on the door, but he would not let her back in.

"He's going to let her drown," she whispered. She looked up at Fiyero incredulously. "He's just going to let her die, Fiyero…"

He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his neck, shaking. Nessa was her little sister. She had taken care of the girl all her life – she couldn't leave her now!

"Fae," Fiyero said softly. "We have to go."

She shook her head wildly. "No. I'll find a way," she said desperately. "I will. But I can't go without Nessa!"

"We have to." He forced her to look into his eyes. "Elphaba, the ship is sinking," he said. "We need to get to the lifeboats or we will both die as well. Your father has made his choice about Nessa."

Elphaba stared at him, then turned around to stare at the closed door. As the truth got through to her, her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Nessa," she sobbed, and Fiyero drew her back into his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her as she cried. "Nessa, I'm so sorry… please forgive me!"

"It's not your fault," Fiyero whispered in her ear. "It's not, Fae. You mustn't believe that. It's your father's fault and no-one else's." He tilted her head back and gently brushed some loose strands of ebony hair away from her face. "And who knows?" he continued softly as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "They might still make it. Maybe by the time your father realises the danger they're in, there will still be lifeboats. They're not going to refuse the governor of Munchkinland and his crippled daughter, Fae."

She knew he was just saying that to make her feel better; but somehow, it worked. She sniffled, but nodded.

He took her hand in his and looked at her. "Let's go."

She followed him.

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><p><strong>Review? *puppy dog eyes*<strong>


	14. To Kill a Prince

**AN: This chapter is... pretty grim and kind of horrible. Not as bad as the next one will be, though.**

**I'd like to give a shoutout to my guest reviewer. I keep re-reading your review, blushing like an idiot and grinning goofily every time. I hope you don't mind I posted it on Facebook as well... and on Twitter... I just felt really honoured. Thank you so, so much!**

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><p><strong>14. To Kill a Prince<strong>

By the time they reached the lower levels again, there was complete chaos. People were running through the hallways, pushing one another in an attempt to get through. They were carrying clothes, bags, suitcases, or small children. Many of the children they saw were crying, clearly not understanding what was going on, while their parents carried or dragged them through the throngs of people, trying to get to the lifeboat deck as soon as possible. When Elphaba glanced down the staircase, she could, much to her surprise and shock, already see the water. It was slowly rising, already nearly reaching the final step. Soon this floor would start to fill with water as well.

She followed Fiyero through hallways and up and down several flights of stairs, trusting that he knew which direction to go in, until they emerged on the lifeboat deck. There, however, the chaos was even bigger than it had been on the lower decks.

The trained ship guards were blocking the way to the lifeboats, constantly shouting, "Women and children first! Women and children first!" Men were trying to push through. To Elphaba and Fiyero's right, there was a woman with three small children trying to get onto a lifeboat; but the guard refused to let her through, claiming that first-class women and children should go first and that, since this woman only travelled third class, she was going to have to wait for her turn.

"This is madness," Elphaba said, shocked. Fiyero nodded and pulled her closer to the guards. She stood on her tiptoes, eyes scanning the crowd for people she knew. Oz, she hoped Galinda and Boq were okay… would they have managed to get into one of the lifeboats? Some of the boats had already been let down and were now floating on the water around the ship – maybe they were on one of those.

She thought Galinda had a pretty big chance of having conquered a place in one of the boats. She was a woman, after all, and an upper-class one, too. No-one would have refused her. But Boq? If they were really that strict about only letting on women and children, maybe Boq was still around here somewhere, trying to save himself by getting to a lifeboat no-one would let him into. The thought made Elphaba feel sick to her stomach. There were so, so many people… and only so few places in the lifeboats.

"We're never going to make it," she said breathlessly, but Fiyero shook his head.

"We're the governor's daughter and the prince of the Vinkus," he reminded her. "They'll let us on, don't worry."

One of the guards stopped them when they tried to push past him. "Only women and children!"

"Sir," Fiyero said, "I'm Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus, and –"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," the man said, not unkindly. "I have my orders. I can only let through women and children."

Fiyero turned to Elphaba and she could see in his eyes what he was going to say before he even said it.

"No," she said immediately.

He took her hands in his. "Fae…"

"No, Fiyero. I'm not going without you."

"It might be your only chance!" He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, looking at her pleadingly. "Elphaba… I love you. I just need to know that you're safe."

She shook her head. "If you're not coming, then I'm not going anywhere," she said simply. "I'm not going without you, Yero. Over my dead body."

He grinded his teeth. "That is exactly what will happen if you don't go now!"

"We can try the other guards," she suggested. "Maybe one of them is willing to let you on with me."

He hesitated, then nodded. "We could try that."

* * *

><p>"Frexspar!" Avaric shouted, knocking on the door leading to the governor's chambers. "Governor Thropp, I need to talk to you!"<p>

The door opened and the younger man stormed inside, eyes burning. "Elphaba took off with that Winkie prince again," he hissed, "and they're trying to get into a lifeboat."

Frex frowned. "Lifeboat?"

"The ship is sinking, Thropp!" Avaric paced up and down the room. "Surely you've heard that by now?!"

"Elphaba came to tell me," Frexspar said, looking pale. "I didn't think…"

"Well, it's true." Avaric glared at him. "I _cannot _let her leave with that Winkie, Governor Thropp. You must understand that. She's mine and I still intend to marry her. I'm not letting her get away with this."

The governor frowned. "What do you want to do, then?"

Avaric reached inside of his jacket and pulled something from his inner pocket. It was a heavy, metal object that looked suspiciously like…

Frexspar gasped. "You brought a _gun_?!"

Avaric shrugged. "I thought it might come in handy." He looked at the governor, a scowl on his face. "I need your help, Governor. She will never leave without him, but she has to. I'm going to get off this ship and I'm going to take her with me, but I won't be able to do that without you."

The governor nodded slowly. "I'm assuming you have a plan?"

Avaric nodded and Frexspar gestured for him to sit down before taking place in an armchair himself, looking at the younger man in interest.

"I'm listening."

* * *

><p>"You know what you have to do, right?" Avaric looked at Frexspar, who nodded.<p>

The governor turned to Nessarose. "Nessa, my darling," he said. "This man," he gestured towards the staff member Avaric had bribed, "will take you to one of the last lifeboats. Stay there and wait for me to join you, alright?"

Nessarose looked frightened. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to find your sister," he said, "and make sure she gets on a lifeboat, too. Don't worry, my dear, it will be alright." He kissed the top of her head and then sent her off with the staff member.

He looked at Avaric. "Let me get this straight," he said. "All I have to do is make sure that Winkie prince does not get on any of the lifeboats…"

"…while I take Elphaba and we get on a boat together," Avaric finished for him. "After we've left, you return to the boat Miss Nessarose is on and Elphaba and I will meet you two in Gillikin after we've been saved." He showed Frex a gun. "Just in case. Don't be afraid to use it."

Frex bit his lip. "Master Avaric, I –"

"You want to see your precious Miss Nessarose safe, don't you?" Avaric interrupted him sharply. "Well, _I _want to see my fiancée safe. I also want to see her _away _from that disgusting Tiggular prince. You help me out, Governor Thropp, and I help you out. That is how it works. And besides – if you had just gotten Nessarose into a lifeboat the moment Elphaba came to warn you, none of this would even have to happen, so you brought it on yourself." He impatiently pushed the gun into Frexspar's hands and strode off. "Follow me."

* * *

><p>"They won't let me on."<p>

"Then we'll find another one that will!"

"They're not going to, Elphaba. They have their orders." Fiyero grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes intently. "Fae. I will be fine, I promise," he said softly. "I will find a way. But you _have _to get into one of those boats before it's too late."

She looked about ready to burst into tears. "But…"

He wanted to wrap his arms around her, hold her in an attempt to comfort her; but he suddenly stiffened when he felt something cold and hard pressing between his shoulder blades.

"Your Royal Highness," a smug voice said behind him, dripping with sarcasm. "How _sweet _of you to have looked after my fiancée for me. However," here Avaric moved from behind Fiyero and locked his fingers around Elphaba's arm, "I can take it from here."

Fiyero made to move towards them, but he felt the pressure of the gun again and he froze, startled. If Avaric was standing in front of him, then who…

His unspoken question was answered by Elphaba's gasp. "_Father_?!"

"I am sorry, Elphaba," Frexspar said gravely from behind Fiyero. "I simply cannot let you leave with him. Avaric is taking you to safety."

"You and I are going to get on a lifeboat together," Avaric told her firmly, "and we are going to travel to Gillikin, and we are going to get married. I'm not letting you go so easily." He glanced at Fiyero. "Think of it this way: Fiyero dies, but because your father is helping me do this, I made sure he and your little sister will at least survive. That counts for something, right? The life of a brainless Winkie prince for the Governor of Munchkinland and his precious, crippled daughter." He threw his head back and laughed. "I always win, Miss Elphaba. You should know that by now." With that, he started dragging her away from him.

"No!" She struggled against him. "Fiyero!"

Frex pressed the gun to Fiyero's temple, making sure Elphaba saw him doing so. "Do as Avaric says or the prince dies." His voice was colder than Elphaba had ever heard it and it frightened her.

"Father," she pleaded softly, "please…"

Frexspar shook his head and Fiyero suddenly found his voice again.

"Fae," he said, his voice hoarse.

She looked at him.

He nodded. "Go."

Her eyes widened. She shook her head wildly. "No! Fiyero…"

"Go!" he shouted. "There's nothing you can do to save me, anyway, and at least this way _you _will be okay. Just go, Fae. Please." He locked eyes with her. "I love you," he said softly. "I'll try everything I can to come back to you, I promise."

Frex pressed the gun to his head harder and Avaric dragged Elphaba with him impatiently. She kept on looking at Fiyero for as long as she could and then she lowered her gaze, deflating and allowing Avaric to pull her with him towards one of the boats.

Somehow, Avaric managed to get them both on; and she sat numbly, staring off into space. Frexspar appeared at the railing with Fiyero, the gun still aimed at the prince, to make sure she wouldn't do anything rash that would enable her to escape. She couldn't, anyway; Avaric had made sure she sat on the far end of the lifeboat. Even if she wanted to try and jump back onto the ship, she'd have to climb over Avaric first and he'd sooner throw her into the ocean than let her go back to Fiyero, she knew.

"You know," Avaric said casually as the lifeboat was being lowered towards the water, "there is actually no boat for Nessarose and the governor at all."

She blinked at him, shaken from her stupor. "What?"

"The promise I made your father," Avaric said, smirking. "It was a lie. The last lifeboats are leaving. Nessarose is still stuck on the ship and your father will be, too. They're going to die here in these icy cold waters along with your precious Winkie prince and there is nothing you can do about it, _darling_. It will be just you and me from now on – for the rest of our lives. We'll even inherit the governorship – I will be Governor of Munchkinland as well as Margrave of Tenmeadows!" He threw his head back and laughed.

A wave of nausea washed over her and she was sure her heart stopped for a few moments, her breath catching in her throat. She could hardly comprehend what he was saying. The possibility – the very likely possibility – of losing Fiyero was bad enough, but to realise that Avaric had _lied _to her father; that Frex and poor, helpless Nessarose would be floating around in this cold water soon, all the lifeboats gone… they had not been the best father and sister they could be, but she still loved them. They were her _family_. And now Avaric was taking thataway from her as well.

"You monster," she hissed, but he just snorted.

"You had it coming, you little slut. Now shut up and sit still."

He was taking everything away from her and there was nothing she could do about it…

…except taking everything away from _him _in return.

Her power coming to life in her veins, she spoke through gritted teeth. "They might die here in these icy waters," she said, her voice low and her dark eyes flashing and burning. "They might. But if they do, then you will, too."

Avaric opened his mouth – undoubtedly to ask her what in Oz she was talking about – but just then, they passed the lowest deck on the ship and Elphaba's hands shot out. Avaric screamed in surprise and rage when he found himself violently thrown backwards by her magical powers, out of the lifeboat and onto the lowest deck of the ship.

By the time he had realised what happened and scrambled back to his feet, the lifeboat was already down in the water and it was being rowed away from the ship, far out of Avaric's reach. She watched him hanging over the railing with a blank expression on her face.

She didn't feel anything. She knew she had most likely condemned him to death, but she could not find it in herself to care. Not after what he had done to her. Her father, Nessarose… Fiyero. If they were going down, Avaric had to go down with them. It was the only way she could keep on living.

As the boat moved away from the sinking ship, she thought that even though she was losing everyone she loved, she had at least escaped Avaric's power. At least she would not have to marry that horrible man and live the rest of her life in misery with him.

At least she was free, and that was the only thought that made her pain the slightest bit bearable.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah. This was a pretty painful one to write - and like I said, the next one is even worse... and the one after that, too, I think :').<strong>


	15. Wherever You Are

**AN: I'm not even going to say anything in this AN. (Okay, I just did, but that's not the point.)  
>*goes into hiding*<strong>

**15. Wherever You Are**

Frexspar let Fiyero go the moment the lifeboat touched the water and the prince flew to the railing, trying to see Elphaba, but it was too dark for him to be able to distinguish her from the other passengers. He whirled around and ran across the deck, trying to find a lifeboat that he might still be able to get on, but there was none. They were all gone.

Nessarose came wheeling towards the governor, weeping. "Father, there was no lifeboat!" she cried. "There are no more boats – we're stuck here, Father… we're going to die!"

Frexspar looked white as a sheet as he tried to comfort his youngest daughter and Fiyero realised that this must have been Avaric's plan all along. He swore to himself that if he survived this somehow, he would strangle Avaric with his bare hands for what he had done to Elphaba and her family. He would.

Just then, however, Avaric came stumbling onto the deck and Fiyero stared at him. Frexspar did, too, not comprehending what was going on.

"It was that witch!" Avaric shouted, pointing at the water. His eyes were burning. "She threw me out of the boat! She threw me out of the lifeboat and back onto the ship!"

Fiyero felt a rush of affection and love for his green girl. At least she'd done that. He was happy to know that she was at least free now and he found himself hoping with all his heart that Avaric would not survive this whole ordeal.

The ship slowly filled with water. At some point, the entire ship snapped in half. One half disappeared underneath the water almost immediately; the other half, which Fiyero was on, remained afloat but slowly started to rise to a vertical angle. People slid down the deck, screaming as they lost their footing and plunged into the icy cold water beneath.

Fiyero was clinging to the railing somewhere on the side. At some point, as the deck rose steeper and steeper, something suddenly whooshed past him – something on wheels – with a loud, agonised scream. It took him a few moments to realise, to his utter horror, that it had been Nessarose in her chair. She slammed into the water and Fiyero thought he could hear Frexspar screaming her name, but he wasn't sure.

He lost his grip on the railing and fell down as well, skidding and slipping down the deck towards the water. The shock of the cold made it impossible for him to breathe for a moment, but then his survival instincts kicked in and he started swimming, trying to keep breathing, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He shook the water out of his face and swam away from the ship. People were floating everywhere – most of them wearing life-jackets, like Fiyero himself; others had found something to hold onto – a floating piece of wood or even, in many cases, another passenger that had already died.

He felt a lump in his throat at the realisation that Nessarose was now somewhere in the sea below him, drowning as her chair sank lower and lower. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head in an attempt to clear it of the image. He did not want to think about that. So many people had already died and they were still dying, but he was _not _going to be one of them. He had a reason to live. The best reason, and he wasn't going to give up now that he had just found that reason.

He floated around in his life-jacket, taking slow, steady, deep breaths, and he pictured Elphaba. He pictured her in that scarlet dress she'd worn the last time he saw her, her emerald skin glowing, her dark brown eyes sparkling. He pictured her smile and he remembered the way she felt in his arms, the way she smelt, the way she kissed. He was going to survive. He had to. For her.

It felt like days, but in reality, it was only a matter of minutes before the ship sank completely, leaving the last passengers in the water as well. Some of them were still thrashing around, crying or calling out for help. Some were completely still – dead or unconscious, he wasn't sure. The air around him slowly quieted, more and more, the people's screams dying away as the life drained from their bodies.

He was gasping for breath now. It was so cold, and he felt so heavy… his eyes started closing, but he forced them to open again. If he closed his eyes now, he was never going to open them again.

But he was so tired and so cold – it was so incredibly cold…

His breath escaping his lips creating a visible cloud of fog in the night sky was the last thing he saw before his eyes fluttered shut and he sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>In the end, Elphaba Thropp made it to Shiz University after all.<p>

The people in their lifeboat had been saved by the people on board another ship, after hours of floating around aimlessly. They had watched in horror as the ship they had been on snapped in two and slowly disappeared under the water – slowly, and then faster, faster, until it was gone completely.

The other people in the lifeboat had cried, screamed, and wept as they watched the ship go under. Elphaba had sat there, staring at the display, never taking her eyes off it, but feeling completely numb. She felt like she was screaming inside, but she could not voice what she was feeling in any way and so she stayed silent, not moving and not saying a word.

It wasn't until later, when they were just floating on the water, that the images of Nessarose, of her father, and of Fiyero suddenly filled her mind, and she started sobbing. One of the other women in the lifeboat put an arm around her and allowed the green girl to cry into her shoulder, rubbing her back and saying soothing things to her. Her sobs died away just as abruptly as they'd begun. No-one asked her anything and no-one said a word. Silence filled the air until it was almost deafening.

And then this other ship had approached them and they had been helped out of the water. They were all wrapped in thick, soft blankets and given hot soup. Their names were asked and written down and they were assigned a place to sleep. Elphaba thought she'd be unable to sleep after everything that had happened; but despite her raging mind, the emotions of the night had worn her out completely and she fell asleep the moment her head hit a pillow. She slept restlessly, though, plagued by nightmares and dreams and visions, images of dead bodies and sinking ships alternating with memories of her father's face and Nessa's smile and Fiyero's touch. It was too much, but she could not stop it and she awoke feeling even more tired than she had before.

They had been brought to Gillikin, but everything had passed in a blur for Elphaba. She had been lost, not knowing what to do or where to go. She'd wandered the streets for a few days, returning to the small camp that had been set up for the disaster survivors every night to sleep there, but escaping that place again every morning, unable to even look at the faces of all those people who had experienced the same thing she had, who had lost loved ones, too. She could not bear it.

It was one day when she put her cold hands into the pockets of her donated coat to warm them up that she found the solution in the shape of the hair clasp Avaric had given her. She had discovered it still in her hair after she had been rescued and she had slipped it into the pocket of her coat; but now she looked at it, really studied it, turning it around in her hands, and she realised that she had had the answer to everything with her all along.

That same day, she sold the hair clasp for a _lot _of money and applied for Shiz University, to which she was accepted a week later. She was assigned a dorm room and given her timetable, she bought the books and some other necessities she had not had for a while – like fresh clothes and a hairbrush – and settled in, trying to pay no mind to the hollow feeling in her heart that seemed to demand her attention all the time.

She had informed, of course, after her family and Fiyero. She'd asked about Boq and Galinda, too. However, it was explained to her that no information could be given to her on anyone who was not a family member; and so she could not find out anything at all about Boq, Galinda, or Fiyero. A woman had told her that she had heard that the crown prince of the Vinkus was still missing, but she had quickly added that news from the Vinkus usually travelled very slowly and so she had no idea what was going on with the prince at the present time.

When she had inquired about Nessarose and her father, she had been told that Frexspar's name was in the register of people who had perished that fatal day. Nessarose's was, too; her body had not been found, but some people who'd been in the lifeboats had seen her chair falling down into the water. Given the fact that she was always strapped in her chair, it was assumed that she had been pulled under by the heavy thing and had drowned. Frex and Nessa were both gone.

She had spent the rest of that afternoon in the park near Shiz, finding herself a private spot where she could cry her heart out without anyone seeing her. She'd apologised, even though they could not hear her, for not being a better sister, or a better daughter; for defying her father so many times and for crippling Nessarose; for not being what they had always wanted her to be.

At night, she talked to Fiyero. She told him about everything that was happening; everything she was thinking, everything she was feeling. She told him about Shiz and how happy she was to be here, but also about the emptiness inside of her and how much she missed him. She told him about her guilt concerning his and her family's deaths and she admitted to him that she did not in the least regret condemning Avaric to death by throwing him back onto that ship. Avaric had died, too, she had found out. The Tenmeadows estate was not too far away from Shiz and all of Gillikin was talking about the death of the margrave of Tenmeadows.

Elphaba felt a grim satisfaction at that, which only made her feel more guilty. When had she turned into the kind of person that felt _good _about other people dying?

_The day I lost everything I loved, _she realised then, and she stopped caring. There was nothing she could do about it now, anyway. Avaric was gone. So was her family. So was Fiyero. She was just going to have to accept that and deal with it.

She knew she was the governor of Munchkinland now and that the house, the money, everything that had once belonged to Frexspar, was now hers. A letter from Munchkinland had reached her, informing her that a temporary governor had been installed until Elphaba would return. She had sent a letter of her own, saying that she would most likely not return to Munchkinland for another three years, since she would be attending Shiz University and did not plan on returning home until she finished her education. She could go home for Lurlinemas break or summer vacation, of course, but she did not want to. Not yet. She didn't think she could do that – going back and not finding her father or her sister there.

She did not even return to Munchkinland for their funerals – Nessa's coffin would be empty, anyway, and her father… she didn't think he would have wanted her on his funeral. Her not attending it would both be respecting his feelings and protecting her own heart – or what was left of it, anyway.

She wasn't happy. She didn't think she would ever be able to be happy again. But she was holding on, and for now, that was all that mattered.


	16. Across the Distance

**AN: An early update, because I had kind of a suck-y day and I figured I could use some reviews to cheer me up!**

**Oh - I almost forgot: kudos to DemonCrowley for being the 200th reviewer! :D**

* * *

><p><strong>16. Across the Distance<strong>

It was one day, about three weeks after she'd been rescued, that she was walking across the campus of Shiz University and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

The person that had made her stop dead in her tracks froze, too, and they could only stare at one another for a few moments before the blonde screeched, "_Elphie_!". The next thing Elphaba knew, she was enveloped by a flurry of pink and she had a mouthful of blonde curls, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered because this was _Galinda_, and she was alive, and she was here.

"Elphie," the blonde girl whispered, hugging her friend tightly. She let go to look Elphaba over for a few clock-ticks and then she hugged her again, squeezing the air out of her completely. "Oh, thank _Oz_, Elphie, you're alive… I didn't know what happened to you, and there was talk that the entire governor's family from Munchkinland had been killed in the disaster, but I couldn't find out… no-one would tell me anything. And then I heard that Avaric was dead and I just knew that if you were still alive, and still free, you'd come here to Shiz, and so I've been coming here – they wouldn't tell me if you were registered here, so I just came here every day, hoping to see you, and… and now here you are! I don't believe it, Elphaba, thank Oz…" She was crying now. Elphaba was, too, clinging to her friend and burying her face in the blonde curls, thanking whatever higher power was up there that at least Galinda had made it out alive. At least her best friend was okay. She wasn't completely alone.

They sat in a small café on campus and exchanged stories about how they ended up here. Galinda was absolutely horrified when Elphaba told her about what Avaric and Frexspar had done, and her blue eyes were filled with tears as she reached over the table to hug Elphaba again, telling her sincerely how incredibly sorry she was about Fiyero.

Elphaba, not wanting to dwell on him – she did that enough in her mind; she did not at all want to talk about it – asked Galinda how _she _had survived.

"I was in one of the first lifeboats," she said. "So was Boq. There weren't too many people there yet and they let him on… they let us both on. We were rescued and brought here, to Gillikin. Momsie and Popsicle took us both in, naturally; Boq spent a few weeks with us, but he returned to Munchkinland a couple of days ago to go see his own family. We agreed to stay in touch, though." She blushed a little. "I think… I think I really like him."

Those words brought back painful memories of her own time with Fiyero and she hadn't thought it possible, but it felt like her heart shattered all over again. She tried not to let it show, though. Instead she forced herself to smile and say, "That's great, Glin."

Galinda's eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her own mouth in horror. "Elphie, I am _so _sorry," she began anxiously, but her friend waved her away.

"It's okay," she said softly. "It's just… it doesn't even matter what you say, really. _Everything _reminds me of him – or Father, or Nessa…" The day she had first seen a fellow Shiz student moving around campus in a wheelchair, she had run back to her room and spent the rest of the day with her face buried in her pillow, crying. Every time she saw a man with his posture and sandy hair, her heart leapt up; but it was never him. Of course it was never him. Seeing couples together made her feel physically sick and her heart broke every time she saw a father and a daughter together. Everything around her constantly reminded her of the people she'd lost and it hurt her to no end.

She still had Nessa's bracelet – the one she had fastened around her wrist not long before the boat sank – and her mother's green glass bottle, too, which she was thankful for. At least she still had something to remember them by.

She wished she had something of Fiyero's, but she didn't. All she had was her memories, which plagued her mind every day. His sapphire blue eyes haunted her dreams and she saw his smile everywhere when she was awake.

She and Galinda talked for a while longer and the blonde promised she'd be there for her friend. She offered Elphaba to stay with her and her parents, insisting her Momsie and Popsicle would not mind in the least, but Elphaba declined the offer. It was very sweet of Galinda, but she honestly preferred to spend most of her time alone right now. She had too much to work through.

Galinda understood that, but she did vow to keep a close eye on her friend and she insisted Elphaba came to visit her at her parents' house during the weekend. She was reluctant to leave the green girl alone after having just found her again, but Elphaba managed to make her go eventually. The young witch returned to her dorm room, which felt dark and empty without anyone there, and she suddenly wished she had taken up Galinda's offer to stay with the Uplands; but something prevented her from going after the blonde. Instead she curled up on her bed, clutched her pillow, and cried herself to sleep like she did every night.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Mum and Dad,<em>

_You are not going to believe how amazing Shiz University is! It's huge, I can tell you that much. There's a large courtyard, where everyone always has lunch, with a fountain in the middle and some benches surrounding it. Around the courtyard are most of the buildings, which are basically sorted by subject – the History building, the Politics building, like that. Thankfully, that makes it a lot easier for me to find the right lecture rooms – I was so afraid I might get lost all the time, but that has not yet happened so far._

_There's a park nearby and there are many cafés and restaurants on campus, too; and then there are, of course, the dorm buildings. I have my own room, just like you requested – but honestly, I would not have minded sharing. The girls here are all very friendly and welcoming (then again, maybe they just know me and want to befriend a princess really badly. There's never a way to tell the difference) and I have been invited to several social occasions already – a party the other day and a few times for lunch, coffee, or dinner. No matter what their reason for inviting me is, I do enjoy their company. I'm already having the best time ever and my classes have only even started a week ago!_

_Seriously, though – I don't know what Fiyero's problem with universities is. I never understood that, but now that I'm here myself, seeing it with my own eyes, I just cannot imagine that anyone would not want to stay here for three years and try their hardest on everything. I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't talk about him that way, now that… you know, what with everything that's going on… I'm sorry. I shouldn't joke about him. How is he, Mum? Is there any news?_

_Anyway, I just… wanted to let you know that I'm doing great here and I'm loving it all, so you don't have to worry about me. I think you have enough to worry about already, in any case. I love you both and please – let me know if there is any more news about Yero, okay? Even if it's bad news, I want to know. Don't try to protect my happiness here by lying to me. He's my brother and I just really, really want to know._

_Love,_

_Cyara_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Cyara,<em>

_Your father and I are thrilled to hear that you are having such a good time, sweetheart! We're very happy for you. Don't apologise for joking about your brother and his university habits – if we can't even joke about him anymore, it means we've given up all hope, and we have not. Alright? We're not giving up as long as there is still a chance. (And besides – you didn't say anything about him that is not true.)_

_We have some business in Gillikin in a few weeks and we were thinking about coming over to Shiz to pay you a visit then, if you would like that. Of course if you don't want your old parents around your new friends, then just say so – your father and I would understand. This visit is not set in stone, anyway. It all depends on your brother. If things take a turn for the worst, there won't be any business visits… instead we'd have to bring you here, to – no, I do not want to think about that. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I did not mean for this letter to turn so pessimistic._

_To answer your questions: yes, of course we would tell you if there was any news. At the moment, the doctors are working on him. They just told your father and me that we can now approach his situation with careful optimism, but frankly, I am afraid to do so, because things can still go wrong. His fever is still a problem – it has gone down a little, but the doctors just can't seem to get it to break. It also seems like he is hallucinating. He keeps muttering things about a green girl. I do not know in which sense of the word he means that – probably not the literal sense, I would think. I don't even know if this girl is real or just exists in his mind. Maybe he just means she was inexperienced? I don't have the faintest clue, so we're currently just ignoring it._

_I promise I will let you know the moment anything else changes, sweetheart. Enjoy Shiz and don't forget to write home to your parents every now and then, alright?_

_With love,_

_Lori Tiggular_

* * *

><p><em>This is just a quick note, Mum, because I do not currently have the time for a long letter; but I read the part in your letter about a green girl and I just had to reply. No matter how very Fiyero-like it would have been to deflower some inexperienced girl on a ship to Gillikin and then talk about her during his fever dreams, I do not think that is the case. You see, there is an actual green girl here at Shiz. The eldest daughter of the late governor of Munchkinland goes here and she has green skin. I went to talk to her the other day to see if I could find out more. She did not recognise me, but she did tell me that she had been there, on the ship. She wouldn't tell me much else, only that she lost everything she cared about and that she's trying to make a new start here, but she always seems so sad… I know the governor and his youngest daughter died in the disaster – her father and her sister – but I can't shake the feeling that there is more.<em>

_I don't know what's going on here or whether it is of any importance or not, but at least Fiyero is not _really _hallucinating. This girl does exist. I don't know how much of a difference that makes._

_Cyara_

* * *

><p><em>Cyara,<em>

_You were right. I still don't know exactly what is going on, but something is, that is for sure._

_Your brother's fever broke yesterday and he woke up. We were so happy, your father and I, and everyone else along with us! The doctors said he would be okay now and we've been coaxing some food and liquid into him to try and make him feel a little stronger._

_He's been asking a lot of questions ever since he awoke and we tried to answer them all. At some point we talked about your letter and the moment I mentioned that green-skinned girl you have at Shiz, he went white as a sheet – we honestly thought he was going to faint… or worse. He tried to get up and out of bed, but we held him down and the doctors gave him something to calm him down. He slept again after that and your father and I had no idea what was going on. Neither did the doctors. When we went to check up on him again this morning, he had disappeared._

_Your father says there is no reason to panic yet, since his life is no longer supposed to be in danger, even though he is weak, and since we seem to have a pretty good idea of where he is going. The moment he arrives at Shiz, I want you to contact us, alright? We need to know he arrived safely there. I don't know what happened between him and that green girl, but your father and I have no doubt that it is her he has gone to see. If he does come to Shiz, write to us and try to keep him out of trouble until we get there. Make him rest a lot. I don't care how you do it – tie him to the bed if need be. Fiyero is way too stubborn for his own good._

_We hope to hear from you soon._

_With love,_

_Lori Tiggular_

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><p><strong>Trust me when I say that I have very, very heavily contemplated actually doing it... but I couldn't. I couldn't do it. So, yeah.<strong>

**I must say I was quite ready to kill off Galinda, though; but then I realised that since she was a woman in first class, it wouldn't be logical for her not to be rescued, especially since she got to the lifeboats so fast.**


	17. My Heart Will Go On

**AN: Yes, your reviews cheered me up immensely. Yes, I am a genuinely cruel person and I love seeing you, Elphaba, Fiyero, Galinda, and everyone else in pain. And yes, I was genuinely bummed that I didn't have the guts to actually kill off Elphaba, Fiyero, or Galinda. *grumbles* I'm too much of a softie... (Someone said later that I could have had something go wrong with Galinda and Boq's lifeboat, killing them. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE?!)**

**Anyways, thank you all ^^ and here you have the second-to-last chapter!**

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><p><strong>17. My Heart Will Go On<strong>

Elphaba awoke to the feeling of fingers touching the side of her face and then softly combing through the hair behind her ear. She yawned and frowned when she realised where she was, blinking. She had fallen asleep at a table in the corner of the café whilst studying; she'd been sleeping with her cheek on one of her arms. She hadn't been able to help herself – it was so warm and comfortable in here, and she had not slept properly in ages.

Only then did she realise that she could still feel those fingers caressing her face and hair and she suddenly shot up angrily, ready to tell this person off, whoever it was. "What in Oz do you think you're –" she began, but she abruptly cut herself off when she saw the person in question standing in front of her.

There were tears in his azure blue eyes and he was smiling softly. "Fae."

She could only stare at him, drinking him in. He watched her as she slowly brought a trembling hand up to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. Then a single sob escaped her lips and she threw herself into his arms, clinging to him like she was never going to let go again as she sobbed her heart out into his chest.

He held her close, guiding her to sit back on the bench she'd been sitting on before and pulling her into his arms. She hid her face in his shirt, crying, unable to believe that this was real; but it was. His scent, his face, his _eyes_, the pressure of his strong arms around her… it was all so very real, but she could not begin to fathom how that was possible.

"Let's go someplace more private," he whispered to her when she had calmed down a little. She sniffled and nodded, wiping her face with the sleeve of her dress before leading him out of the café and towards her dorm room. She never let go of his hand and he never let go of hers, squeezing it tightly.

Once they were in her dorm room, she turned to him, her eyes wide.

"Yero," she whispered, but before she could say anything else, he had closed the distance between them and his lips crashed against hers as he pressed her against the wall. She kissed him back, her arms around his neck as his closed around her waist. He picked her up and carried her over to her bed, looking down at her with a burning intensity in his eyes.

She sat up then in order to be able to look at him properly. She reached out to trace his features with her fingers and she choked back another sob. "I thought you were dead…"

"I almost was," he whispered as he ran his hands up and down her arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She burrowed into his arms with her head under his chin and her cheek pressed against his chest.

"I don't even really know what happened," he admitted. "I stayed on the ship for as long as I could, but then it broke in half and it went down… I fell into the water. I was wearing a life-jacket, so I stayed afloat, but it was so cold… I tried my hardest to stay awake, but… everyone around me was… dying…" He shuddered a little and she snuggled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He pressed his cheek to her hair.

"I fell unconscious," he said softly. "I thought that was it. But one of the lifeboats came back and I heard them calling. Somehow, I heard, and it was enough to wake me again. I called back to them and they pulled me out of the water. By the time we were rescued by another ship, I was sick, and apparently I only got worse as time progressed. I was taken back to the Vinkus and my parents had their best physicians taking care of me, but I've been unconscious for a long time and my fever wouldn't break. It finally did, a week or so ago… but I wasn't really coherent enough yet to start searching for you. Mum said I rambled on about you when I was still feverish – she thought I was hallucinating. And then she read me a letter from my younger sister Cyara, who studies here at Shiz as well, and she said that you were here… and I had to go. I got a horse from the stables and rode all the way here as fast as I could."

She was speechless. "You…" She sat up, looking at him. "You weren't even healed yet… and yet you came?!" she asked incredulously.

"Of course I came." He looked back at her with a solemn look in his blue eyes. "I love you. I was so afraid that something might have happened to you after all, that maybe you hadn't made it… you have no idea how happy I was when I heard from my mum that you were here, at Shiz." He lowered his eyes, embarrassed. "I didn't even tell her or Dad that I was leaving. They'd never have let me go," he muttered. "I just left late at night without saying anything, though they'll probably know where I went…"

Elphaba did not know what to say.

"I had to see you," he said simply. "I had to see for myself that you were okay."

She buried her head in his chest again, soaking his shirt with tears, before pulling away and kissing him. They kissed for a long time before breaking apart again and Elphaba ran her hand down his face.

"You threw Avaric out of the boat," he said, stroking her hair. "He came back to us, seething. What happened?"

She bit her lip. "He told me… as we were going down, he told me that…" Her eyes filled with tears again and she sniffled. "That he had lied to Father and Nessa, and that there was no boat… that they were going to die on the ship so that I would become Governor of Munchkinland and he could claim that title alongside his own." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I just… I had to. My magic responded and I didn't even feel guilty about it – I just… I couldn't lose all of you and still be stuck with him. I just couldn't."

"I know," he said soothingly, kissing the top of her head. "It's okay, Fae, I understand. Of course I do."

She nodded slightly and told him how she had been saved eventually. He pressed her a little closer, feeling the warm weight of her in his arms and marvelling at the fact that he was still alive and she was, too, and that she was here with him.

"You should rest," she said, her voice sounding thicker than usual because of the tears she was still holding back. "You… you probably only made things worse by travelling all the way here. I should get you a doctor."

He shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, but she made him lie down nonetheless. He tried to pull her down with him, but she refused, instead pulling the blankets over him and tucking him in before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm going to get a doctor," she said.

He grabbed her hand. "Don't go. Not yet."

"I'll be right back," she said, but he actually looked scared and she softened. "Yero…"

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Really. Please don't go."

She gave in with a sigh, crawling into the bed with him. He drew her into his arms and buried his face in her hair as he held her close. After a while, she could tell by the sound of his breathing that he had fallen asleep – he must be exhausted after the long journey he'd had.

She gingerly detached herself from him and slipped out of the room, leaving a note for him on the nightstand just in case. She first went to the infirmary to ask for a nurse who could check Fiyero over and then she went to the administration building, asking where Cyara Tiggular was staying and making her way over to the girl's dorm room.

She was surprised to find the girl she had been talking to a few days earlier on the other side of the door. "Cyara?" she asked, before remembering herself and curtseying. "I mean – Your Highness…"

"Elphaba!" The blonde girl's face brightened. "Fiyero came to you, then, didn't he?"

Elphaba stared at her, speechless, and the princess laughed.

"I received a letter from my parents the other day," she said. "They suspected he'd come here, to see you, and they asked me to keep an eye out for him and contact them the moment he showed up."

"He's in my dorm room," Elphaba said softly and Cyara nodded quickly, grabbing a coat.

"Let's go."

Fiyero woke up to not just Elphaba's face, but his sister's and a nurse's as well, all looking at him with varying degrees of concern. Elphaba was biting her lip, clearly worried; Cyara looked a little angry; and the nurse smiled at him and started shining into his eyes with a bright light. "Hello there, Your Highness. How do you feel?"

"Fine," he grumbled, wanting to glare at Elphaba for not listening to him, but he couldn't. Instead he obediently allowed the nurse to examine him and the moment she stepped back, Elphaba moved to his side, lacing her fingers with his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I had to."

He squeezed her hand. "I know, Fae. It's okay."

The nurse told them that the prince's life was not in danger, but she would still like to have him transferred to the infirmary so that they would be able to keep an eye on him. Fiyero protested, but Cyara agreed with the nurse and before long he found himself in a bed in a white and way too sterile room in the infirmary of Shiz University.

Cyara demanded the full story of what was going on and together, Fiyero and Elphaba told her everything about what had happened on the ship and afterwards. He was exhausted after that and fell asleep before long. Elphaba climbed onto the bed with him and snuggled into his embrace, closing her eyes as well and revelling in the feeling of having him so close.

A nurse came after a while, frowning disapprovingly.

"Excuse me, Your Highness," she said to Cyara. "Would you mind waking up your friend? Visiting hours are over and she is no longer allowed to stay here."

"Tough luck," Cyara answered drily, "because she _is _staying here."

The nurse's frown deepened. "She is not family, Your Highness. I know she's not. I'm going to have to ask her to leave." She stepped towards the bed.

"If you so much as _try _to wake her up," the Vinkun princess said as she rose to her feet, her sapphire blue eyes narrowing, "I'm going to have you fired before she is even out of that bed."

The nurse blinked.

"I'm royalty," Cyara reminded her. "You know I could if I wanted to. She's staying here."

The nurse was clearly not happy with that, but she nodded reluctantly. "Of course, Your Highness." She left the room.

Cyara smiled to herself and leant back in her chair. After what Fiyero and Elphaba had been through together, there was no way she was going to let them be separated because of some stupid hospital policy.

* * *

><p>"Elphaba?" a voice whispered.<p>

She opened her eyes, blinking slowly. The first thing she saw was a woman's face and she squinted. She knew at once that she had never seen this woman before, but the sapphire blue eyes and the general features of her face spoke volumes.

She quickly scrambled to her feet. "Your Majesty…"

"Just call me Lori," the woman assured her, giving the young witch a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Elphaba. Cyara has filled us in on everything she knew about you, and of course we had our suspicions because of the things Fiyero said during his fever…"

Elphaba glanced at Fiyero, who was still sleeping soundly in the hospital bed, and she flushed as she looked back at the Vinkun queen. "I'm so sorry," she said softly, "about him, you know, coming here without telling you, and…"

"That was not at all your fault," a new, gruff voice assured her. It turned out to belong to a man that looked like she imagined Fiyero would look in thirty years, only with brown eyes instead of blue ones. "He's stubborn as a mule."

"Yes, well, who in _Oz _could he have gotten that from?" Lori asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

Cyara, who was sitting in a chair on Fiyero's other side, chirped, "We both take after you, Dad. Don't try to deny it."

The king laughed. "I won't." He shook Elphaba's hand. "Hamold Tiggular. It's a pleasure, Miss Elphaba."

She nodded, a bit dazed and overwhelmed by the presence of the king and queen of the Vinkus in this small infirmary room. Cyara hopped to her feet.

"I'm going to get some bad hospital coffee," she announced. "Anyone else?"

Lori declined, but Hamold and Elphaba both accepted the offer. Hamold sat down in a corner with the newspaper he had been reading and Lori took a seat next to where Cyara had been sitting.

The blonde girl returned not long thereafter, carrying three cups of coffee, two of which she handed to her father and Elphaba. They sipped quietly for a few moments, none of them saying anything.

They all started when Fiyero suddenly murmured, "Do I smell coffee?"

"Yes," said Elphaba, a little anxious. "Is the smell bothering you? Because I can get rid of it, if you want to."

"No way," Cyara said immediately, scowling at her brother. "I need this coffee. You just deal with it, Tiggular."

Fiyero chuckled weakly. "It's fine. It doesn't bother me."

"Are you sure?" Elphaba asked him and he smiled at her.

"I'm sure." Then his gaze drifted to his parents. "Oh. Hi, Mum. Dad." He fumbled around for Elphaba's hand, slipping his fingers into hers. "I see you've met Elphaba."

"We have." Hamold smiled. "She's a lovely young lady, Yero."

"Next time, though," Lori said, narrowing her eyes at her son, "would you mind _not _giving us a heart attack and just telling us what you are planning on doing? We would have arranged a carriage and a doctor to come with you – not to mention the fact that one of us would have come with you as well. For Oz's sake, Fiyero, what were you thinking? I don't even want to think about what could have happened!"

"I know," he said, lowering his eyes, clearly a bit ashamed. "I probably should have told you, but I was afraid you'd try to stop me… and I had to see Elphaba. I just had to. I had to know for sure that she was alright."

The green girl in question smiled a bit shyly at him and he squeezed her hand, tugging at it to bring her closer. She sat on the edge of his bed and he drew her to sit beside him, pulling her into his arms.

Lori sighed. "Oh, Yero. We understand. We do." She shook her head. "Though I must admit, I had never expected this of you."

"Yeah," Cyara said, swallowing a mouthful of coffee and making a face at the taste. "What happened to the scandalacious Fiyero Tiggular, who did nothing but pull pranks and party all day long to the point where Mum and Dad had to cut you off and basically gave up all hope of you ever growing up?"

"I think that Fiyero Tiggular fell in love," Hamold said with a knowing grin at his son, which Fiyero returned.

"What now?" Lori asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at her son. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Actually, yes." He took a deep breath and looked first at Elphaba, then at his parents. "I want to stay here."

"Here," Lori echoed. "At Shiz."

Fiyero nodded. "I don't want to go home yet," he said. "More than anything, I want to stay with Elphaba… and I guess it would not be such a bad idea for me to finally get a degree," he added sheepishly. "I didn't miss that many classes yet – I could catch up. I'll try harder this time, I promise. I just really want to stay here with Fae…"

His sister coughed loudly.

"…and with Cyara…" Fiyero said, rolling his eyes at his sister, but he was grinning. "…and study here."

His parents shared a look. Then his mother nodded.

"Okay," she said. "That's good. I'm glad. I'm proud of you, Yero."

"Me, too," said Elphaba softly, and he beamed at her.

They weren't alone again until later, when Hamold and Cyara had left to get some rest. Lori stayed with her son and Elphaba, but she had fallen asleep in one of the hospital chair.

Elphaba was lying on her side, facing Fiyero and tracing his face with her fingers. She couldn't believe that not too long ago, she had given up all hope of ever being happy again. Her father and Nessarose were gone and she'd been convinced that Fiyero, and even Galinda, was gone, too… and now here she was, and he was so very much alive, and she didn't think she'd ever been more relieved.

He combed his fingers through her hair and voiced the things she was thinking. "I can't believe you're here."

She shook her head. "Me, neither."

"Everything is going to be different now," he said, pulling her closer and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Nothing is standing in our way anymore. It's strange, isn't it? To think that about two months ago, we didn't even know one another… and then when we did, there were so many reasons why we couldn't be together. And now here we are."

"Yeah…" She sighed sadly. "I just… I wish the cost weren't so high."

He squeezed her waist gently. "I'm sorry, Fae."

"Me, too." She looked up at him. "But at least I still have you," she said. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I think I do, sweetheart." He leant down to kiss her. "I really think I do."

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><p><strong>Reviews will earn you a virtual Fiyero cuddle.<strong>


	18. Forever This Way

**18. Forever This Way**

"And now," the headmistress announced, "we proudly present to you: our Shiz University graduates of this year!"

Everyone started clapping. Elphaba spotted the king and queen of the Vinkus, smiling proudly, and she felt a tinge of sadness that her own father was not here… or Nessarose. She wasn't sure about her father, but she knew at least her younger sister would have been proud of her today.

Fiyero caught her gaze and held out his hand behind Cyara's back. She slipped her fingers into his and he squeezed reassuringly, earning himself a small smile from her.

Cyara was standing between them, beaming. They were all beaming. Fiyero could hardly believe that after all these years, he had finally graduated university; and Elphaba still had trouble believing that she really had attended Shiz now, just like she had always wanted, and that she had just received her degree. A major in Politics with a minor in both History and Sorcery, exactly as she had hoped.

They had all worked hard these past couple of years. Elphaba had stayed by Fiyero's side for as long as he was still in the infirmary. When he was released, it was to move to a room in the boys' dormitory on campus. She'd _had _to leave his side then, because they were not permitted to share a room; but it was okay. He was just across the street, after all, and she still saw him every day. He often stayed over in her room or she in his, they had classes together, and they spent as much time together between that as they possibly could. Elphaba had made him study hard and he was willing to do so, for her, resulting in him passing almost all his courses the first time and being able to graduate at the same time as everyone else.

Galinda had been a frequent visitor – she joined Fiyero, Elphaba, and Cyara for lunch, dinner, or coffee, took them into town, or invited them over to her house. More than once, she took Elphaba and Cyara shopping – something Cyara loved, but Elphaba still loathed. Not as much as before, though. Despite everything, she could not deny the fact that it was a huge relief to not have to wear corsets and fancy clothes all the time anymore, to not have to uphold an image at all times… to just be able to be herself, no matter what.

Galinda was here today, too, standing next to Fiyero's parents with Boq beside her, his arm around her waist. Her hand was resting on her stomach. She and Boq had gotten married two years earlier and she was pregnant with their first child at the moment.

Elphaba knew her and Fiyero's marriage would not be far away. He made it no secret that he loved her to death – she hated him saying that, always pointing out to him how close he'd actually come to dying because of her, to which he'd sternly reply that that had _not _been because of her and regardless of that all, it was true. He had already told her many times that he intended to marry her. Galinda had even revealed to her that basically all of Oz was waiting for an engagement, now that they had graduated, since they had already been together for three years. The Vinkun people were ecstatic about their crown prince finally settling down and so was his family. No-one, however, was more excited than Fiyero and Elphaba themselves – even though the latter would, of course, never show it.

They were congratulated by everyone and it took them a while to find a moment together without anyone interrupting them. Fiyero, growing sick of it, eventually just pulled Elphaba around a corner.

"Congratulations, Miss Elphaba," he said, smiling. He reached out to finger the little fringe on her cap. "You have graduated."

"Was there ever any question about me graduating?" she asked pointedly, raising one eyebrow. "I think I should congratulate _you_, Master Tiggular. It seems you have _finally _received your degree as well."

"Think about it, though," he said as he pulled her close. "I never would have met you if I hadn't been kicked out of all those schools. Or maybe I would have," he added, suddenly thoughtful. "Do you believe in things that are meant to be?"

She shook her head.

"Well, I do." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "And I think we are."

She blushed.

"I wish we had more time alone together," he sighed, burying his face in her long, silky hair, "but Mum and Dad want to have dinner with us."

"Who is 'us'?" she asked and he summed up, "You, me, Cyara, Galinda, and Boq."

"Well, at least we know and like all those people." She kissed his cheek. "We'll be alone tonight. I'll stay in your room."

He nodded and grinned at her. He loved the nights they spent together. They had both agreed that nothing would happen until they were actually married; and even though that was hard for him sometimes – she was just so irresistible! – he found that no matter what, he just loved sleeping with her in his arms. Even if they were both fully clothed and did nothing but cuddle.

Dinner was a loud, but happy affair. Cyara recounted several stories of her time at Shiz and she and Galinda giggled a lot. Fiyero's parents asked everyone about their plans after graduation.

"Wait," said Fiyero suddenly. "What's going to happen to us?" His head whipped around and he looked at Elphaba anxiously. "I'm to be the king of the Vinkus."

"Yes." The confused expression on her face clearly told him she had no idea what this was about.

"And you're the only heir to the governorship of Munchkinland," he said, his panic rising.

"Yes," she said slowly, still not understanding where he was going with this. The other people at the table were also looking at him questioningly.

"We're not getting married, then?" He tried to keep his voice neutral, but it was a bit higher than usual and it was shaking.

"What?" Elphaba stared at him. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Fae…" He took her hands in his. "I'm going to have to be in the Vinkus. You are going to have to stay in Munchkinland. We can't –"

"For Oz's sake, Fiyero, I'm not going to Munchkinland!" She shook her head. "I already told you that. I'm coming to the Vinkus with you."

He was still looking pale. "But –"

"I'm not going to claim the governorship, Yero," she said softly. "I never really intended doing so in the first place. The Munchkins wouldn't want me as their governor any more than I want to keep living in that place. All I've ever known there is ridicule. I have no desire to go back and I have told my replacement that much. The man who took over temporarily is now staying permanently. He promised me he'd send my things and any other personal belongings he'd find to the Vinkus – I'll need to sort through Nessa and Father's stuff, too…"

"You're not going back?" he asked, just to be sure, and she smiled at him.

"No," she said. "I'm going to come with you to the Vinkus, and I'm going to be your wife."

"My queen," he corrected, grinning widely. He put his arm around her and she leant her head on his shoulder.

"Once Fiyero finally musters up the courage to ask her, that is," Galinda said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

"It's not a matter of courage!" Fiyero protested. "It's just a matter of planning the perfect proposal." The real reason he had not proposed yet was because he wanted to give Elphaba some more time to get used to the Vinkus and the customs there, and his mother had already promised to go over some royal duties with the green girl. He didn't want to overwhelm her with all those things at once.

They bade one another goodbye after dinner. Hamold and Lori returned to their hotel, Galinda and Boq to Galinda's parents' home in Gillikin, and Cyara to her dorm room. Elphaba went with Fiyero, sitting on his bed and watching with a small grin as he quickly kicked some dirty clothes under his bed and threw some other things in the open, but still mostly empty suitcase lying on the floor.

She shook her head. "You're not procrastinating at all, are you?"

"I didn't feel like packing," he admitted. "None of this stuff matters much to me, anyway." He sat down next to her and kissed her temple. "I can't wait to go home and start the rest of our lives together."

She snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes, thinking about their relationship so far. It had been three years, and yet somehow, the first two months or so had been more emotional and eventful than everything that had happened afterwards combined – which she was grateful for. She'd had enough adventure, drama, and heartbreak to last a lifetime.

She could not even begin to describe how grateful she was that Fiyero had survived. She'd been so lost, so lonely without him. Those few weeks in which she had thought he hadn't made it were etched into her memory forever, because they had been the darkest weeks of her life. She'd thought she'd lost everything. And she would always miss Nessarose, and even Frexspar, in a way; but at least she had Fiyero back, and Galinda… and Boq. They were her family now and that was more than she could ever have wished for.

"I love you," Fiyero whispered in her hair and she smiled and kissed him softly in reply.

"I love you, too, Yero my hero."

She had constantly felt like her life had been divided in two: before the disaster, and after. It had been good for her to go to Shiz, rather than return to Munchkinland, after it had happened; but it had still felt like she had been lingering in the aftermath of the event for three years, grieving for her family and constantly hearing all about what had happened, since it was printed in newspapers all over Oz and it had been a favourite topic of conversation until at least a year after it had happened.

And now the third part of her life was about to start, she thought as she looked up at Fiyero. Her years at Shiz now felt like some sort of transition time between her life pre-disaster and the rest of it. And she was ready now. She was ready to start all over again, for real this time, in the Vinkus, with Fiyero by her side… and he would always be by her side. She knew that now. Just like she would always be right next to him. They'd been knocked down, but they got up again; and she was ready to be happy.

Fiyero kissed her, more firmly this time; and she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, losing herself in the moment and in this man, who would soon become her husband.

* * *

><p><strong>So... that was it. The final chapter. I hoped you liked reading this story even half as much as I liked writing it. Thank you all once again for your support and for always staying with me - it means the world to me.<strong>

**You can expect a Lurlinemas three-shot within a few days :).**


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